PREP EXTRA
For full game coverage, see Prep Extra in today’s Sports section or visit McHenryCountySports.com.
WWW.NWHERALD.COM
Harvard .................... 35 Marengo ...................13
CL Central ............... 34 Grayslake Cent........10
Hampshire ............... 14 Grayslake N. ............42
Mendota ..................20 Rich.-Burton ............ 27
CL South...................28 McHenry .................. 21
Woodstock .............. 21 Jacobs ......................43
Cary-Grove................. 6 Prairie Ridge.............. 0
Huntley ....................14 Dundee-Crown ........ 17
Johnsburg ................22 Woodstock N........... 21
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
75 CENTS
75 CENTS
Board reaffirms hospital decision Response to judge’s query states Centegra met most criteria for Huntley proposal By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com HUNTLEY – A state board recently reaffirmed its support for Centegra Health System’s Huntley hospital, telling a Will County judge that Centegra met nearly all of the state’s criteria for hospital approval. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board delivered its
response Wednesday to Will County Judge Bobbi Petrungaro, who in a court order earlier this summer told the board to explain why it reversed course and approved a permit for Centegra’s $233 million Huntley project without explanation. The board argued in the response that Centegra was in “substantial conformance” with the board’s approval standards, meeting 17 of the
board’s 20 requirements based upon a review by the board’s staff at the Illinois Department of Public Health. The 17 criteria included compliance on the board’s financial and economic standards and occupancy standards for hospital services such as medical, surgical, pediatric and intensive care. The three standards not met included need in McHenry County for
approval should be appealed. Centegra’s regional competitors, including Mercy Health System, Advocate Health Care and Sherman Health, all filed suit asking for an appeal. Centegra had approached the board three times for approval before the review board reversed its decision in July 2012.
the proposed project, and unnecessary duplication of health care and clinical services in the area. “The board determined that the three noncompliant criteria ... did not outweigh the positive aspects of this project,” the board wrote in its response. The board’s response now sets the stage for a hearing in Petrungaro’s chambers on whether the board’s
See HOSPITAL, page A4
Weekend showdown coming up at Capitol
Still a lot on pantries’ plates Visits from local families increase despite stagnant ‘food insecure’ numbers
By DAVID ESPO The Associated Press WASHINGTON – Time running short, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed urgent legislation Friday to avert a government shutdown early next week, and President Barack Obama lectured House Republicans to stop “appeasing the tea party” and quickly follow suit. Despite the presidential plea – and the urgings of their own leaders – House GOP rebels showed no sign of Inside retreat in their drive to use the threat of a What would shutdown to uproot happen in a the nation’s three- shutdown? year-old health care Tourists, law. homebuyers “We now move on would be hit to the next stage of quickly. this battle,” said Sen. PAGE A4 Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who is a face of the “Defund Obamacare” campaign in the Senate and is in close contact with allies in the House. First effects of a shutdown could show up as early as Tuesday if Congress fails to approve money to keep the government going by the Monday-midnight start of the new fiscal year. “Think about who you are hurting” if government services are interrupted, the president said at the White House, as House Speaker John Boehner pondered his next move in a fast-unfolding showdown – not only between Republicans and Democrats but between GOP leaders and conservative insurgents. Despite Obama’s appeal, the Senate-passed measure faces a swift demise in the House at the hands of
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Marlene Lehr (left) of Cary is helped by volunteer Mary Beth Taylor-Hansen of Cary while picking up groceries Thursday at the Cary-Grove Food Pantry at St. Barnabas Church in Cary. The pantry has nearly doubled its clientele since the recession hit and now serves about 200 families a month. By SHAWN SHINNEMAN
Voice your opinion
sshinneman@shawmedia.com Some local food banks say their clientele has increased in the past five years despite the fact that the number of U.S. citizens considered “food insecure” has steadied since 2008’s economic downturn. The U.S. Agriculture Department released its 2012 study on food security recently. About 14.5 percent of the country’s popula-
Have you donated to a local food pantry this year? Vote at NWHerald.com.
tion was found to be food insecure, meaning a lack of access to adequate food for active healthy living at some point during the year, according to the USDA. The number has remained about the same the past five years
LOCALLY SPEAKING
after it jumped from its 2007 level of 11.1 percent. But since 2008, McHenry County has continued to require greater resources to make sure food is on the table for all families. The Northern Illinois Food Bank has increased distribution to McHenry County by 30 percent during the past five years. “The recession hit, and everyone’s business went down,” said Melody Stanko, Cary-Grove Food Pantry director. “Unfortunately,
our business went the other way.” Stanko said the pantry has nearly doubled its clientele since the recession hit and now serves about 200 families a month. When she started about 15 years ago, the pantry was serving between 30 and 40 families a month. A population increase in Cary accounts for some growth, Stanko said, but she attributes the vast majority to the recession.
See FOOD, page A4
McHENRY COUNTY
LAWMAKERS WANT ANSWERS ON RTA Lawmakers are questioning whether County Board Chairwoman Tina Hill is providing enough information on her search for the county’s new Regional Transportation Authority Board representative. State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, and state Sen. Dan Duffy, R-Lake Barrington, wrote Hill on Wednesday to say more transparency was needed. For more, see page B1.
Kelley Williams and Dan Donovan Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
McHENRY: New program at Home of the Sparrow aims to get homeless into housing sooner. Local&Region, B1
See SHUTDOWN, page A4
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