McHenry West looks to make reading fun for students
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013
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Audit says pensions mishandled
After the two lanes closed in front of us, I lost about 70 percent of my business. It was an instant hit. It wasn’t a declining thing. It had an instant impact on us. It’s really hard to survive right now. – Mike Kaleel, owner of Dante’s burger and hot dog shop
Headaches build in Algonquin
Money diverted to pay for legal expenses in Island Lake By EMILY K. COLEMAN
By the numbers
ecoleman@shawmedia.com ISLAND LAKE – More than $200,000 in taxpayer money was mismanaged, spent on legal fees and settlements instead of being placed into the police pension fund, village officials said. Facing cash-flow problems, the village did not transfer any of the money levied for the police pension fund to the fund for fiscal 2011-12 and only half of the $150,000 levied for fiscal 2012-13, Treasurer John Little said. The Police Pension Fund Board was alerted by fund managers in spring that the money had not been deposited, said Sgt. David Walz, who serves as the board’s president. The board received the fund’s audit this week, which confirmed the report. “That is money due to the
taxpayer $200,000 inmoney that was mismanaged, according to village officials amount levied for the police pension fund for fiscal 2012-13. Half of that money did not transfer because of cash-flow problems
$150,000
pension fund,” Walz said. “That is taxpayer money from hardworking people [levied] to pay police pensions.” The board is in talks with the fund’s auditors, the village’s auditors and the village administration to figure out how much is owed and how to reimburse the fund, he said. They also are discussing what interest the fund would
Residents endure construction pains of Western Algonquin Bypass
See PENSION, page A7
Web contractors blame Obama administration The ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON – Contractors who built the Web portal for the Obama administration’s health insurance marketplace said Thursday the site’s crippling problems trace back to insufficient testing and changes that government officials made just prior to going live. Who’s to blame? The first congressional hearing into what went wrong dug into issues of website architecture and testing protocols – but also restoked the partisan battle over President Barack Obama’s signature expansion of health coverage for millions of uninsured Americans. Republicans who’ve been trying to kill the program the past three years sounded outraged that it is being poorly carried out, while Democrats jeered
Photos by H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
Sugar Hill Bakery owner Anna Majewski watches construction workers from her shop window. “Some of the equipment shakes the whole building,” she said of the work going on along Route 31 in Algonquin.
them as political hypocrites. What was clear after more than four hours of testimony was that the contractors had only partial answers, and only the Obama administration can eventually put the entire picture together to explain the botched rollout. Cheryl Better times Campbell a r e coming, CGI vice said executives president from CGI Federal, which built the HealthCare. gov website serving 36 states, and from QSSI, which created a component that helps verify applicants’ incomes and other personal details. They said problems are being fixed daily and expressed optimism that
See INSURANCE, page A7
LOCALLY SPEAKING
By JIM DALLKE jdallke@shawmedia.com ALGONQUIN – Passing through the heavy Route 31 construction on his way to work, Mike Kaleel, owner of Dante’s burger and hot dog shop in Algonquin, occasionally drives past his own restaurant. And if the clutter of construction cones, trucks and changing road patterns can confuse the store’s owner, there’s no wonder why Dante’s, 10400 Route 31 in Algonquin, recently has had trouble attracting customers, Kaleel said. When finished, the Western Algonquin Bypass will provide traffic congestion relief at Routes 62 and 31 in downtown Algonquin. But for businesses and residents in the middle of the construction, it’s tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or in this case, the elevated highway. The bypass – a $33 million construction project that will create a 2-mile, four-
Tables sit empty during a recent lunch hour at Dante’s in Algonquin as bypass construction continues along Route 31. Dante’s has seen a major drop in customers since construction started. As with all major road projects, businesses and some residents are facing issues with access and commuting. lane highway, part of which will be a bridge over Route 62 – has been a headache for businesses such as Dante’s. Kaleel said he first noticed a
McHENRY COUNTY
MCC PROPOSAL UNDER SCRUTINY Resident Steve Wilson challenged MCC trustees during a board meeting about their plan to construct a new facility for health science courses, saying the demand for health care jobs is not as great as college officials claim. The project could cost between $29.5 million and $47.3 million under initial proposals presented to the board. For more, see page B1.
Joseph Cyganowski for Shaw Media
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CRYSTAL LAKE: Crystal Lake South bests Crystal Lake Central, unofficially wins Fox Valley Conference. Sports, C1 Vol. 28, Issue 298
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dip in business in July, but when the two lanes in front of his burger and hot dog restaurant were closed in September, that’s when he
really started to worry. “After the two lanes closed in front of us, I lost
See BYPASS, page A7
Winning is no accident. Franks, Gerkin & McKenna 815.923.2107 www.fgmlaw.com