THURSDAY
Ja n ua r y 2 9, 2 015 • $1 .0 0
FAMILIAR FESTIVITIES
n Late director Ramis to be
honored during Groundhog Days n Schedule of festival events Planit Play, 8-9 NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
HIGH
LOW
37 17 Complete forecast on page A8
Facebook.com/NWHerald
@NWHerald
Revitalizing a crucial creek Meeting
violators targeted Closed-door talks in Oakwood Hills prompt reform bill By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Photos by Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Earthwerks contractor Omar Alaniz checks the elevation Wednesday while contractors work on grading the stream bank on the Nippersink Creek at Glacial Park in Ringwood. A joint five-year project between the McHenry County Conservation District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore 3.5 miles of Nippersink Creek and 507 acres of land is currently in progress.
Nippersink restoration work to address flooding, invasive species Learn more
By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com RINGWOOD – Just around a bend of Nippersink Creek from a large orange excavator, the stream’s banks cut straight down to its bed. The roots of the prairie grasses were the only thing that kept the dirt from tumbling into the creek. But eventually the roots will give out, too, and if left to its own devices, the erosion process will begin again. The crews just upstream – contractors from ENCAP Inc. hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – are hoping to stop that process and return the Nippersink’s banks to a more gentle slope. The work is part of a fiveyear ecological restoration project targeting 3.5 miles of
To follow project updates, visit the McHenry County Conservation District’s website at MCCDistrict.org and click the “Banking on Nature” link under the “What’s New” tab.
All the heavy lifting will be done during this first stage, which is set to wrap up by April 1, said Jonathan Koepke, a vice president and general manager at ENCAP Inc. The DeKalb-based firm, which specializes in ecological Jonathan Koepke, vice president and general manager of ENCAP Inc., restoration work, is taking adtalks Wednesday about eroded banks and the project to restore parts of vantage of the cold weather to Nippersink Creek and land at Glacial Park. truck out large amounts of dirt to where a natural hill created the creek and 507 acres of prai- almost to North Solon Road, when the glaciers melted used ries and wetlands from the cen- continuing where other resto- to exist, he said. ter of McHenry County Conser- ration efforts have left off to the vation District’s Glacial Park edge of the park’s boundary. See NIPPERSINK, page A4
A state representative incensed over the Oakwood Hills Village Board’s likely illegal meeting over a controversial power plant proposal is trying again to pass a law making it easier to report Open Meetings Act violations. House Bill 175, filed Jan. 14 by Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, allows people to report a violation of the act within 60 days of its discovery. Current law limits the reporting period to 60 days from the date of the meeting in question, meaning that violations discovered after that date cannot be reported to the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office. “I’m going to push this hard … the current [limit] is inadequate,” said McSweeney, who was a vocal opponent of the power plant proposal. McSweeney first filed the legislation last September, after an attorney for area residents opposed to building a 430-megawatt, $450-million power plant in the small town discovered that the Village Board had discussed the proposal in closed session in July 2013, nearly a year before the proposal was made public. A Northwest Herald analysis of the minutes from the closed-session meeting concluded that board members likely violated the law. The Open Meetings Act, which among other things limits
NO MORE EXCUSES “No More Excuses” is the Northwest Herald’s ongoing series about the public’s right to know in Illinois.
ONLINE You can read the text of House Bill 175 at www.ilga. gov, and you can learn more about Illinois’ open-government laws at foia.ilattorneygeneral.net.
See REFORM BILL, page A4
Gov. Rauner among nation’s top donors in ’14 elections The ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO – Multimillionaire Republican Bruce Rauner was one of the top donors in the U.S. to 2014 state-level political campaigns, sinking more of his own money into his successful bid for Illinois governor and other races than almost any other organization or person nationwide, a new study found. The businessman wasn’t the
only Illinois name to appear on the list of the top 50 donors released Wednesday by the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity. GOP hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, the Illinois Education Association and the Democratic Party of Illinois also were among the country’s largest campaign contributors, thanks largely to Rauner’s fiercely contested race with Democrat Pat Quinn. The analysis doesn’t include
SPORTS
races for U.S. House or Senate, and isn’t a complete accounting of all money spent because disclosure rules and deadlines vary from state to state. But it gives a clear picture of how Illinois was home to some of the election cycle’s biggest spenders. Here’s a look at some of them:
public office this month, contributed more than $28 million from his personal bank account, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the state. The Center for Public Integrity analysis shows that was more than any other individual, and dwarfed only by contributions made by the Republican GoverBRUCE RAUNER nors Association and the DemoRauner, a private equity inves- cratic Governors Association. tor who was sworn into his first More than $27 million of Raun-
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Harvard man guilty in sex case
Advice ..................................C6 Business Snapshot ...........A7 Buzz...................................... C8 Classified........................D1-12 Comics .................................C7 Community ......................... B1 Local News.......................A1-6 Lottery..................................A2 Movies.......................Planit 15 Nation&World.................B3-4 Obituaries ....................... A6-7 Opinions ............................. B2 Planit Play .....................Inside Puzzles .............................D8-9 Sports............................... C1-5 State .................................... B3 Weather ...............................A8
He could receive up to 67-year sentence for predatory sexual assault of 9-year-old / A3 NATION
CL South finishes strong Gators hold off Huntley rally for 53-42 FVC Valley win; turnovers plagued Red Raiders in comeback effort / C1
er’s money went toward his race with Quinn, helping pay for campaign ads and a statewide operation that included more than 500 paid employees. The rest went to other GOP candidates and state, county and township organizations. The total doesn’t include millions more that Rauner’s campaign committee also directed
Gov. Bruce Rauner
See DONORS, page A4
Start 2015 with a Clean Smile! And enter to win Blackhawks Tickets! New Patient Adult Special
$59
Exam, X-rays, Routine Teeth Cleaning*, Implant or Orthodontic Consult (*not in the presence of gum disease) exp. 1/30/15 • must present coupon • cannot be combined w/ other offers
Win Blackhawks Tickets at Bull Valley Dentistry! Refer a friend or family member to our office and win the chance at Blackhawks tickets for the 7:30pm - February 24th game! Contest ends February 20, 2015 - $300 Value
Boston digs out from blizzard Businesses, airports reopen after storm brought area more than 2 feet of snow / B3
601 Ridgeview Drive in McHenry 815.322.7679 • Habla Español www.bullvalleydentistry.com
adno=0311510