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Cary-Grove football earns No. 1 seed in Class 7A playoffs / C1
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More early voting seen
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Absentee ballots also trending higher in county By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com A push by Democrats and Republicans alike for people to vote early in Illinois is being felt in McHenry County with an uptick in early and absentee ballots. Slightly fewer than 4,000 people had voted early at the county’s 10 polling places as of Friday morning, or an average of about 900 voters a day since early voting opened Monday, County Clerk Katherine Schultz said. She said the number Katherine of people who Schultz participate in McHenry early voting County clerk this election could exceed 10,000 – more than 8,800 voters hit the voting machines early in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Early voting ends Nov. 2, two days before the general election. “We could – you figure right now we have 4,000, and early voting has only been going on since Monday,” Schultz said. Schultz said the 3,900 absentee ballots her office had mailed out as of Friday morning is also above normal. The total number of combined early, absentee and grace period voters in the 2010 gubernatorial election was 12,600. There
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Medical Director Dr. Elizabeth McMasters (center), nurse Becky Marvin (top right) and Director of Organizational Advancement Sue Krause test out the platform of the planned telepsychiatry sessions Thursday at the offices of the Pioneer Center for Human Services in McHenry. Via computer are contracted psychiatrist Dr. Imran Shakir (seen on the screen at bottom left) and Chad Morris, the account executive with InSight Telepsychiatry. The center hopes to use the new technology to see more than 100 clients.
Telemedicine program to expand psychiatry services By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com McHENRY – The use of new technology by Pioneer Center for Human Services is expected to help expand psychiatric care for McHenry County patients like never before. Enabled by funding from the McHenry County Mental Health Board, the county’s first telepsychiatry program will soon launch at Pi-
oneer Center. “Basically, it uses a computer screen and camera,” the center’s organizational advancement director Susan Krause said. She said the yearlong pilot program will use screens, microphones and encrypted video conferencing to connect clients, psychiatrists and other health care professionals for virtual sessions – a solution of sorts to an ongoing need for more psychi-
atric services in the county. Krause said the center at this point is waiting only on hiring a nurse to oversee the program, but the hope is to launch patient care “in the near future.” Telepsychiatry, according to the National Psychiatry Association, is currently one of the most effective ways to increase access to such care in underserved areas. Krause echoed the thought, add-
ing that the center is continuously recruiting psychiatrists for the county, but competition with larger, more urban areas makes retention challenging. The program will be geared specifically toward “dually diagnosed” individuals with concurrent mental health and developmental disability diagnoses, a population Krause said
See TELEMEDICINE, page A4
See VOTING, page A8
Lieutenant governor hopefuls aim to partner, help lead SPRINGFIELD – Both major-party candidates for lieutenant governor like the fact that 2014 marks the first Illinois election where the tickets ran as a team in the primary. “I will be working as Bruce Rauner’s partner,” said Republican candidate Evelyn Sanguinetti, a lawyer and a member of the Wheaton City Council since 2011. She said,
if elected, she would step into roles the lieutenant governor already plays, including chairing the state’s Rural Affairs Council and working to enhance the state’s river systems and downtowns. “Aside from that, I will be working at the behest of the governor,” Sanguinetti said in an interview with The State Journal-Register. That would include doing “whatever he needs to have me do as far as touring the
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state and reporting back to the governor as far as what I’m seeing with regard to agencies and where there is excess or whether there is not enough in way of manpower,” she said. “I look forward to doing that,” Sanguinetti said. “And as a former assistant attorney general, I’ve counseled a lot of units of government, so I feel very comfortable stepping into that role.” Paul Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools
who also ran school districts in three other states, was Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s choice. Vallas also is a former Illinois Senate staffer who headed the legislature’s Springfield-based economic forecasting arm. “I really see myself as part of the governor’s office,” Vallas said of the role he would play if elected. “I like to think that the governor brought me in, besides the fact that he’s known me for 30 years, because of my expertise in finan-
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Harvard beats Hinckley-Big Rock, 3-2, for first sectional title in school history / C1 PLANIT STYLE
Milestone anniversary Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church celebrating 175th year, but congregation has no intention of living in the past / A3
cial planning, because of my expertise and track record in public policy, and because of my track record in accountability.” He said he sees himself helping implement Quinn’s budget plan and considers himself a problem solver. He said “troubled situations” he’s been brought into include Chicago Public Schools, which he took over in 1995 when budget
Halloween haunts Algonquin man steps up game, decorates home for bigger, better scares / Planit Style, 6
See HOPEFULS, page A8
Inside n McHenry County voters to see some uncontested races Nov. 4. PAGE A3
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