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Gaming signs to be taken down Woodstock City Council amends code to ban signage on exterior of licensed establishments By HANNAH PROKOP hprokop@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Starting in January, no signs advertising video gaming will be seen by people passing by the city’s 18 establishments with video gaming licenses. Woodstock has amended the video gaming terminals section of the city code, in part to address concerns the city has received regarding the amount
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of video gaming in the community, Mayor Brian Sager said. The ordinance brought to the City Council on Tuesday proposed the amendment ban video gaming signage or advertising of any type or size from the exterior of any licensed establishment, including signs that can be viewed from a window or door facing the public. “What we’re trying to do is find a balance that addresses the interest and concerns of
as many people as we possibly can,” Sager said. Chris Hesch, managing partner with Awesome Hand Gaming, said his company supplies machines to some local establishments in town. “Be careful of over-regulation when it comes to gaming signage,” Hesch told the council, adding later he wasn’t against the amendment. Council member Mark Saladin said he wouldn’t have a
problem with a new restaurant that has video gaming hanging a temporary banner. Council member Daniel Hart, owner of D.C. Cobb’s, which offers video gaming, agreed, adding “people that are investing that kind of money into the machines and everything else” should have the chance to advertise. The city has rules on exterior signage, City Planner Nancy Baker said, that require per-
We want to get to the point where we have enough advocates to serve every child in McHenry County that needs a CASA.” Kelly Pokharel, executive director of McHenry County CASA
The Associated Press
H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
McHenry County CASA celebrating 10th year Organization serves juveniles with cases in abuse, neglect court By HANNAH PROKOP CRYSTAL LAKE – After experiencing emotional, verbal and sexual abuse growing up, Corey Rotelli did not have a constant in her life. From the time she was 13 years old until she lived on her own at about 19, she moved between temporary shelters and homes or lived with friends and family. “I moved so many times, it was so hard for me to depend on anybody,” said Rotelli, now 40. Many children and teenagers in McHenry County are in the same situation, said Kelly Pokharel, executive director of McHenry County Court Appointed Special Advocates, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. CASA is a national organization that serves people from birth to 21 years old who have cases that are open in juvenile abuse and neglect court, Pokharel said. That includes about 150 to 200 people each year in McHenry County.
If you go WHAT: CASA Cup: A Night at the Races WHEN: 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday WHERE: Turnberry Country Club, 9600 Turnberry Trail, Lakewood
McHenry County CASA has served 426 children since it started, Pokharel said. The organization is funded by individuals, businesses, family foundations, the United Way and fundraising events, such as CASA Cup: A Night at the Races, which will be from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Turnberry Country Club, 9600 Turnberry Trail, Lakewood. Part of the way CASA keeps costs down is because all of the advocates are volunteers, Pokharel said. Advocates serve as the “eyes and ears for the judge and the voice for the child,” and they provide details to a judge about a child’s life that a caseworker could not provide because he
or she works with so many children, Pokharel said. CASA started with about 15 advocates. It now has about 100. They serve one person or one group of siblings, Pokharel said, and work with a case for an average of two years. “We want to get to the point where we have enough advocates to serve every child in McHenry County that needs a CASA,” Pokharel said. She said most of their advocates are retired women, but the organization is open to anyone applying, especially more men. Although advocates and children do not have to be matched by gender, sometimes the relationship is better when they are, Pokharel said. Bob Gray has been an advocate with CASA for about eight years. He said he had an “intact family” growing up, which encouraged him to get an education and be successful – atypical of the children in the cases
See CASA, page A6
temporary exterior signage for a business within 60 days of getting an initial city video gaming license, with the proper permit. The amendment will take effect Jan. 1. Main Street PourHouse Manager Katie Hackett said the amendment “is absolutely ridiculous.” She said many people already know they have video
See SIGNS, page A6
FOIA issue – emails on private devices – goes back to court By JOHN O’CONNOR
Bob Gray has been an advocate with Court Appointed Special Advocates for about eight years. The organization works to serve people from birth to age 21 who have cases that are open in juvenile abuse and neglect court, which includes about 150 to 200 people each year in McHenry County.
hprokop@shawmedia.com
mits for signs on the exterior of buildings affixed to a glass window, and that are a certain size in the historic district and for temporary banners. Baker said the city hasn’t approved any permanent signage that says video gaming on it, but it has issued permits for temporary banners. The council voted unanimously on the ordinance, adding the amendment after including a section that allows
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois law states government officials’ emails about taxpayer business are public records for all to see. But what if they’re sent from private accounts or personal cellphones? Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel argues those are not for public consumption. The Chicago Tribune claims they are, and took the matter to court last month. Gov. Bruce Rauner had his own dust-up this summer over an aide’s private emails, and the practice cost a University of Illinois chancellor her job in August. The issue, once limited to scattered consternations over politicians playing fast and loose with new technology, is pervasive this year, beginning with revelations about Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct business while she was U.S. secretary of state – a case that spurred a lawsuit by The Associated Press. Public-access advocates insist Illinois law is clear, and the state’s attorney general and appellate court weighed in just two years ago, declaring that public business is public record – no matter how it’s conducted. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act requires disclosure of public records “regardless of physical form or characteristics.” The appellate court decreed in a case involving the Champaign City
Council that making an exception for communication on private devices would allow officials to “subvert” FOIA by avoiding all official channels. That very concern is back in court as government officials parse the 2013 ruling’s language. “There is an express presumption of openness in the statute ... ” said Matthew Topic, a lawyer and FOIA expert in Chicago. “Unfortunately, this line of thinking has become all too common: Even when the language of the statute is clear, public bodies won’t comply until a court tells them that they must.” In the case of Emanuel, the Tribune sought emails related to Chicago’s scandal-tainted system of red-light tickets enforced through cameras. But the Democrat’s administration argued messages sent from private devices are not in a public body’s possession. FOIA “does not impose an obligation to locate and search private email accounts,” the city said in a July denial letter to the Tribune. The newspaper filed the lawsuit Sept. 24. As for Rauner, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that education adviser Beth Purvis, operating as a contractual employee, was using a private email account to conduct public business. Rauner’s legal staff denied a Sun-Times FOIA for Purvis, using the “possession” argument, then reversed itself and disclosed several documents, including one marked “confidential.”
See PRIVACY, page A6
AP file photo
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks July 1 at a news conference in Chicago. Illinois law says government officials’ emails about taxpayer business are public records for all to see. But what if they’re sent from private accounts or personal cellphones? Emanuel argues those are not.
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