Marengo ............. 42 Rockford Chr. ........7 Harvard ............... 22 Genoa-Kingston ..21 Johnsburg ..............7 Hampshire .......... 42 St. Edward ...........21 Marian Cent........ 49
PREPEXTRA
For full game coverage, see Prep Extra in today’s Sports section or visit McHenryCountySports.com.
CL South ..............14 Cary-Grove...........21 Jacobs ................. 27 Huntley ............... 20 North Boone ........21 Rich.-Burton ........13
Grayslake N ........ 27 Prairie Ridge....... 56 McHenry ..............21 Dundee-Crown ... 49
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2013
WWW.NWHERALD.COM
Woodstock ......... 27 CL Central ........... 48 Woodstock N.......12 Grayslake Cent... 28
75 CENTS
Police bust Harvard drug ring Bar owner among eight residents facing cocaine charges after yearlong investigation NORTHWEST HERALD
Eight people have been charged with at least one count of delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school. Police staked out KB’s Bar and Grill in Aaron A. Kelly N. Harvard for about a year. Brennecka, 22 Bush, 36
HARVARD – Over the course of a year, police staked out KB’s Bar and Grill in Harvard. Undercover officers bought cocaine at least eight times, watched other transactions and sometimes saw the drug money put into the cash register or behind the bar, according to court documents. The investigation result-
Antonio M. Figueroa, 31
Kelli N. Figueroa, 31
confiscation of 65 grams of cocaine, two codeine pills and $1,647 in cash, according to a
ed in warrants for eight Harvard residents, six of whom were arrested Friday, and the
Juan Roger William Gonzalez, 47 Gonzalez, 38 Oros, 20
news release. McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren estimates the
Nicholas M. Stegg, 22
street value of the seized narcotics at $6,500, according to the release.
Grandparents take on changing role Some provide basic needs for grandchildren
A
The Associated Press
Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
Ailton Lopez, 9, shows his grandmother, Martina Rodriguez, a copy of Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat In The Hat” that is printed in both English and Spanish on Monday while visiting the Dundee Township Public Library in East Dundee. according to U.S. Census data. More than 211,900 children in Illinois live with a grandparent, state figures show. Rodriguez’s three grandchildren – Heidi Casiano Soriano, Eduardo Lopez Soriano and Ailton Lopez – all have excelled academically, while Rodriguez continues to adapt to the modern ways her grandchildren use daily. Technology aside, grandparents who raise grandchildren often have to overcome cultural, economic and legal hurdles to be an active participant in their grandchild’s life, said Peg-
More inside A look at the numbers behind grandparents as primary caretakers for children in the United States and Illinois. PAGE A7 gy O’Connor, program coordinator for grandparents raising grandchildren at the University of Illinois Extension in Lake and McHenry Counties. O’Connor, who also raised her grandson, said “the epidemic” of grandparents filling the parental role has increased dramatically over the past 25 years,
while lawmakers and the court system have failed to address the needs of grandparents. Grandparents often are caring for children because of substance abuse, neglect, divorce or financial issues with the child’s parents, O’Connor said. Many grandparents provide this care without legal guardianship, as the court system favors the birth parents and their rights to raise their children, she said. Grandparents thrust into the parenting role often use
See GUARDIANS, page A7
McHENRY COUNTY
EX-YOUTH MENTOR GETS 5 YEARS A McHenry County judge previously found Leonard W. Puccini, 53, formerly of Bull Valley, guilty of criminal sexual abuse. Puccini was convicted of sexually abusing a boy he once mentored and initially met through Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County. He was sentenced Friday to five years in prison. For more, see page B1.
Bill Wevik H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
LOW
53 36 Complete forecast on A10
High court invalidates ‘Amazon tax’ for Ill. By JOHN O’CONNOR
LOCALLY SPEAKING
HIGH
See COCAINE, page A7
‘Discriminatory’ to digital transactions
By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com s a grandmother, Martina Rodriguez never imagined she would spend her mornings making breakfast for her grandchildren before school or helping them with their homework after school. But, at 59 years old, Rodriguez has found herself in the same position as a growing number of grandparents across the country. In her household, Rodriguez acts as mom to her three grandchildren, who were separated from Rodriguez’s daughter. Every day, Rodriguez spends personal time with her grandchildren. She helps prepare their meals, assists them with schoolwork and juggles her evening work hours to make it happen. Rodriguez even sought assistance and learned to manage a computer through a grandparent support group that started last year at Carpentersville-based District 300. “Kids are different now,” Rodriguez said through a District 300 translator. “It’s very important to be a part of any program that gives you more knowledge and to help grandparents understand their grandchildren and be a part of the world they are living in now.” In the United States, 5.4 million children younger than age 18 live in a grandparent-headed household,
All eight people have been charged with at least one count of delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, a Class X felony. KB’s Bar and Grill, 71 N. Ayer St., Harvard, is near Central Elementary School. Bar owner Kelly N. Bush, 36, of 714 Casey Lane, was charged with one count, and her bond was set $100,000.
McHENRY COUNTY: Many residents still struggle to find work, even after attending local job fairs. Business, E1 Vol. 28, Issue 292
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B8 E1-2 B10 E3-8
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Kids are different now. It’s very important to be a part of any program that gives you more knowledge and to help grandparents understand their grandchildren and be a part of the world they are living in now.” Martina Rodriguez Grandmother who raises her three grandchildren
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court threw out a state law Friday that taxes certain Internet sales, saying the so-called “Amazon tax” violated federal rules against “discriminatory taxes” on digital transactions. The 6-1 ruling represented the first time a court had invalidated an Internet sales tax law among 18 states that have them. It brought an immediate cry from traditional, store-based retailers for Congress to step into regulating taxes on web sales. The court determined that Illinois’ 2011 “Main Street Fairness Act” was superseded by the federal law, which prohibits imposing a tax on “electronic commerce” and obligates collection that’s not required of transactions by other means, such as print or television. Illinois’ law required out-ofstate retailers to collect state taxes on annual sales of more than $10,000 that involve in-state “affiliates,” or website operators and bloggers, that draw consumers to the retailers’ sites in exchange for a cut of each sale. That prompted several high-profile departures from the Prairie State by companies such as CouponCabin.com, which fled rather than lose so-called “clickthrough-nexus” payments from the Internet retailers. But Justice Anne Burke, writing for the court’s majority,
See TAX LAW, page A7