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District 200, village OK TIF deal
Agreement: Lakewood to reimburse district cost of students living in TIF district By ALLISON GOODRICH
agoodrich@shawmedia.com
and EMILY K. COLEMAN
ecoleman@shawmedia.com LAKEWOOD – Despite concerns that an agreement designed to prevent a threatened lawsuit opened Lakewood taxpayers up to risk
and would lead to Woodstock School District 200 carrying more of a tax burden, both the village and the school district approved the agreement Tuesday evening. The approval comes nearly a day to a year after the village of Lakewood created a tax increment financing dis-
trict centered on Routes 47 and 176 to spur economic development. The TIF district works by freezing the property value of the school district – and every other taxing body – and collecting taxes on and then putting the taxes collected on any new value into a special
fund to be used within the TIF district’s boundaries. This raised concern for district officials and others that the school district would lose out on new revenue while potentially having to educate any students who move into the area, a concern the agreement approved Tuesday is de-
signed to address. The intergovernmental agreement would hold the village responsible for reimbursing the school district at least $8,680 for each student residing in the TIF district, and in return, the district would not pursue a lawsuit, the agreement said. The baseline num-
Republicans square off
Property taxes, responsive gov’t top priorities of County Board hopefuls By KEVIN P. CRAVER
kcraver@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Property tax relief and more responsive government are among the top priorities of Republican hopefuls running in the March 15 primary for three McHenry County Board districts. All but one of the GOP primary candidates for County Board Districts 4, 5 and 6 – which cover the northern and western portions of the county – made their cases to voters who attended a forum Tuesday evening held by the McHenry County League of Women Voters. Three candidates are running for two open seats each in Districts 4 and 5. Five candidates are If you go seeking the party’s nomination The League for the two open seats in District of Women 6. Voters canMcHenry didate forum Area Chamber for McHenry of Commerce County Board President Kay Districts 1, 2 Bates said she and 3 begins i s running to with a 6:30 be “a voice for p.m. meet-andbusiness” on the greet Thursday County Board. at McHenry Bates, newcomCounty College, er Craig Wilcox Building B, and incumbent 8900 Route 14, Sue Draffkorn, Crystal Lake. R-Wonder Lake, are running in District 4. “I truly, passionately believe that people who have been in business for many years really are obligated to serve, to give back to their communities,” said Bates, of McHenry. Wilcox, a retired Air Force colonel, said lowering property taxes is at the top of his list of priorities. While he acknowledges that the County Board for years has kept its levy flat, he said he wants to use his office as a bully pulpit to implore other local governments to do the same and ease the burden on taxpayers. He said property tax reduction will help solve other problems, such as the ongoing outmigration of local residents to other states. “We fix property taxes, and some of our other problems will start to fix themselves,” said Wilcox, of McHenry. District 4 covers McHenry, Richmond, Burton and northwestern Nunda townships, including all or parts of McHenry, Wonder Lake, Richmond, Johnsburg and Spring Grove. Grafton Township Supervisor James Kearns of Huntley is one
n Voice your opinion: Have you or will you attend any candidates forums for this election? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
See REPUBLICANS, page A4
n On the Web: To view more photos from the candidate forum Tuesday, visit NWHerald.com.
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Taking a chance Michael Volkening’s big plays in the final seconds help Marengo win / C1
ber, which is how much on average the district spends with local property tax revenue to educate a student, would increase each year the TIF exists by the rate of inflation as determined by the consumer price index.
See AGREEMENT, page A4
After ugly first year, Rauner holds fast By SARA BURNETT
The Associated Press
ABOVE: McHenry County Board candidates Michael Skala (back) and Andrew Snarski (left) listen to James Kearns answer a question Tuesday from the League of Women Voters at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake. LEFT: McHenry County Board candidates from Districts 4, 5 and 6 are videotaped during a forum Tuesday hosted by the League of Women Voters at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake. Photos by Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
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LOCAL NEWS
CHICAGO – Gov. Bruce Rauner takes pride in not being like any of Illinois’ previous governors, either on matters of style or substance. A multimillionaire in his first public office, the former private equity investor drops by watering holes in the state capital of Springfield to have a lowbrow Stag beer, despite having belonged to a six-figure wine club. He eschews backroom steak dinners and doesn’t drink caffeine, instead subsisting on so many salads and vegetable juices that some in the press corps have speculated about the carrot-orange tint to his skin. It’s not unusual for him Bruce Rauner to be the worstdressed man in a room, sporting Inside plaid shirts that look like they Amid budget came from the mess, Rauner sale rack at a dis- to seek more count store. efficient govMostly, how- ernment. ever, it’s his poliPAGE B3 tics. Unlike even his Republican predecessors, who often cut deals with Democrats and their labor union allies in the Legislature, Rauner boasts about being the first to stand up to them, even as it’s led to a record-breaking stalemate. Seven months after Illinois’ last budget expired, the state still doesn’t have a new one, and money is running out for many programs. Now, after the most unusual first year of any new governor in the country, Rauner is starting 2016 with signs that the strangest may be yet to come. As he prepares for his second State of the State speech this week, he is talking tougher than ever about his adversaries, particularly the “union bosses” he has already called “corrupt,” and is raising the specter of growing chaos, including public employee strikes, layoffs and shutdowns in state services. “I don’t know what the tipping point is,” said Emily Miller, who has advocated for social service agencies and other organizations at the Capitol for a decade. “The United States hasn’t seen anything like this, so it’s fair to say Illinois hasn’t seen
See RAUNER, page A4
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