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Ja n u ar y 28, 2016 • $1 .0 0
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STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
Rauner repeats calls for reform
Local lawmakers praise governor for pro-business address By SARA BURNETT and IVAN MORENO The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD – Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner used his State of the State address Wednesday to make another case for changes he said would make Illinois more competitive, even as he acknowledged that huge opposition from Dem-
ocrats has prompted a record budget stalemate and crippled social services and other programs. Lawmakers who represent DeKalb County residents in Springfield, all of whom are Republicans, lauded the governor’s address. “The Governor is continuing his push to improve our business climate and grow
good-paying jobs, but he’s also working to improve the way our entire state government functions,” state Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said in a statement. “This platform of bold reforms is how we can finally overcome a decade of mismanagement that ran our state into the ground.” State Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, said that the lack
Gov. Bruce Rauner delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly in the House chambers Wednesday at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
of a budget shouldn’t obscure the progress that has been made. “The governor highlighted several areas where there are opportunities for bipartisan support,” Pritchard said. “We need to move where we can move. There are some cracks of light in the wall of gridlock.”
See RAUNER, page A6
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Lt. Joe Gliniewicz’s widow is indicted
FORMER PROTANO’S AUTO PARTS
By SHAW MEDIA
grant funds to remediate the site in 2003, but that money is spent. A consultant estimated that it could cost between $300,000 to $600,000 to cleanup the site but the hard cost is dependent on more testing to determine just how hazardous the site is, he said. “There is hazardous waste and then there is contaminated waste,” Hiland said. “Sometimes you can put it in the landfill and other times it has to be encapsulated and trucked out to some facility. We’re the majority of the way there, but we have to finalize those areas where they believe there may be additional contaminations.”
A grand jury has indicted Melodie Gliniewicz, widow of disgraced Fox Lake Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, for a role investigators said she played laundering money and using charitable funds for personal benefit, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, was found to be involved in the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post with her husband, whose involvement was tainted after the investigation into his death found inconsistencies in financial Melodie documents, officials said. Gliniewicz The Lake County Grand Jury indicted her after hearing testimony Wednesday. She was indicted on three counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit, Class 2 felonies; one count of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit, Class 3 felony; one count of money laundering, a Class 2 felony; and one count of money laundering, a Class 3 felony, authorities said. The most serious charges carry a potential prison term of between three and seven years. After the indictment, a Lake County judge issued an arrest warrant for Melodie Gliniewicz, setting bond at $50,000. According to a statement from her attorneys at North Barrington-based Kelleher and Buckley LLC, Melodie Gliniewicz is a victim of her husband’s actions and “looks forward to her day in court to show the world her innocence.” “Melodie has suffered greatly over the past few months and continues to move her family forward after the emotionally traumatizing events of September 1, 2015,” the attorney’s office said. “Considering Melodie’s cooperation with law enforcement, she is devastated by the decision to bring charges against her.” Attorneys also asked the media to respect Melodie and her children’s privacy. AlittleoveramonthafterJoeGliniewicz’s Sept. 1 death, the Lake County Major Crime Task Force turned over evidence regarding suspected criminal activity to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. A team of detectives organized by Lake County Undersheriff Ray Rose analyzed more than 10,000 pages of documents, requested additional bank/business records via subpoena, requested additional items/ documents from the village of Fox Lake, and conducted several interviews, officials said. “The investigation revealed money was withdrawn from the police explorer account over the course of several years,” Rose said in a statement.
See PROTONO’S, page A6
See GLINIEWICZ, page A6
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
The site of the former Protano’s Auto Parts sits empty Wednesday along South Fourth Street in DeKalb. It was purchased by the city last year. The site must undergo environmental remediation before it can be redeveloped because the Environmental Protection Agency has designated the area as a brownfield site. The agency conducted a brief investigation in 2004 that uncovered a large pile of discarded auto parts and indicated the site had been used to burn cars in the 1960s and ’70s. The EPA’s report concluded soil on the site also was contaminated with lead.
Future of contaminated Protano site unclear IEPA not taking applications for grant program By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN
bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The city can’t clean up the contaminated site that formerly housed Protano Auto without some kind of funding, but the grant program that contributed to the project in the past isn’t accepting applications. “It’s still on the books but the legislature is unable to fund it,” said Steve Colantino, manager of the office of brownfield assistance with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. “We don’t even accept applications for it right now.” According to the IEPA website, a brownfield is a parcel of real
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Voice your opinion What should the city do to pay for the remediation of the former Protano Auto Shop site in downtown DeKalb? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com. property, or a portion of the parcel, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment. Brownfields are abandoned, unused, or underused industrial and commercial properties. The properties vary in size, location, age and past use. They can be anything from a 500-acre closed steel mill to a small abandoned corner gas station.
The city of DeKalb acquired the 2 acre Protano property on south Fourth Street last year. The site has been a work in progress since the early 2000s and is contaminated. The federal Environmental Protection Agency conducted an investigation in 2004 that found lead. Officials said more testing is needed to determine the extent of the contamination but funding opportunities are few. “We are continuing to explore funding opportunities,” said Derek Hiland, the city’s principal planner. “We want to maintain the site and continue to pursue grants.” IEPA gave $100,000 in municipal brownfield redevelopment
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Democrat Andrea Zopp brings U.S. Senate campaign to NIU / A3
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