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COOKING SLOW AND STEADY Short ribs recipe takes advantage of slow cooker to bring out deep flavors / D1 NWHerald.com
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Board to review conduct measure County government appointees could be removed if found in violation of proposed policy By KEVIN P. CRAVER
“I think this is a very good step forward in accountability of our appointments, and our appointees will take this very seriously as far as their responsibilities.”
kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A code of conduct for appointees to county government boards and commissions – complete with the legal authority to remove violators – will likely go before the McHenry County Board for approval before year’s end. Its Management Services Com-
Paula Yensen, Management Services Committee chairwoman, D-Lake in the Hills mittee liked what it saw in the draft proposal Monday, and asked county staff to draw up a resolution for the committee to move it to the full
County Board, committee Chairwoman Paula Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills, said. A new state law that takes effect Jan. 1 empowers collar-county
boards to draw up standards of conduct that appointees are required to honor. Yensen, who made a name for
herself last year exposing excessive attorney’s fees paid by the Mental Health Board where she holds the County Board’s voting seat, lauds the proposed ordinance as a tool that county government can use to help keep subordinate agencies ethically and financially accountable. The County Board appoints about
See CONDUCT, page A4
Quinn touts job news ahead of election
TRUNK OR TREAT IN McHENRY COUNTY
Rauner: ‘Special deals’ shouldn’t be used to lure companies to state By DAVID MERCER The Associated Press
Photos by Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Olivia Araiza, 3, of Cary carries her lollipop while walking the Trick or Treat Trail on Saturday at Lions Park in Cary. The costumed children walk to different stations where they can play games to get prizes, treats, candy or trinkets.
Growing trend a Halloween treat Traditional practice transformed into community celebration By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
A
trick-or-treat trend growing in popularity is making sure children get more than a sugar high during Halloween festivities. The emergence of trunk or treat events has transformed the traditional practice of trick-ortreating from an isolated doorto-door event to a community celebration for the whole family. Local businesses, schools and even churches have hosted the events to give families a safe alternative to the door-to-door tradition that can sometimes frighten children because of the sights and costumes they encounter. Pam Howell, creative communications director for Willow Creek Church in Crystal Lake, said the church’s trunk or treat event has grown since it first started 11 years ago and drew
Lilly Donnelly, 2, of Cary walks with her parents during the Trick or Treat Trail event Saturday at Lions Park in Cary. “It’s an alternative to the traditional trickor-treating of going house to house,” park district spokeswoman Katie Hughes said. It’s also a safe and family-friendly festive event, Hughes said. about 2,000 people Sunday. Howell said the event engages the entire congregation and
community as most of the middle school and high school students volunteer to provide and hand out
candy to children while families also can enjoy pumpkin decorating, games and other activities. The trunk or treat event also helps children learn the value of giving back to the community as the event raised 1,425 cans of food for the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. “A lot of families want to celebrate Halloween because it is fun, and we view this as a great way for families to spend time together,” Howell said. “But it also teaches children at a very young age they can make an impact in their community by doing something as simple as donating a can of food.” Justin Searles, youth pastor at Springbrook Community Church in Huntley, said his church also has embraced the trunk or treat event in its approach to Halloween. Springbrook drew about 750 people and allowed children to
See TRUNK OR TREAT, page A4
“But [trunk or treat] also teaches children at a very young age they can make an impact in their community by doing something as simple as donating a can of food.” Pam Howell, creative communications director for Willow Creek Church in Crystal Lake
CHAMPAIGN – Announcements that hundreds of jobs will be coming to Illinois at a new fertilizer plant and for online retailer Amazon highlighted the starkly different prescriptions for reviving the Illinois economy from Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner. Quinn joined Amazon Vice President for Global Policy Paul Misener in Chicago Tuesday to hail the Election company’s plans for Central 1,000 new jobs in the state by 2017, new Follow the distribution centers local, state and potentially other and national facilities. The appearance followed a Mon- races at day announcement NWHerald. that Chicago technol- com/elecogy company Coyote tion-central. Logistics plans to add More 500 jobs. State officials also inside confirmed that Cronus Chemicals LLC Libertarian had chosen Illinois candidate over Iowa for a $1.4 Chad Grimm billion fertilizer plant finds unlikely that will employ 175 in support from eastern Illinois, plus a labor group Chicago headquarters currently with an additional 25 employees. The Asso- backing Quinn ciated Press first re- PAGE B3 ported the company’s plans late Monday night. “This is an exciting day,” Quinn said of the Amazon announcement. “Tomorrow’s another day and we have another exciting announcement,” Quinn said, referring to plans to officially unveil the Cronus project Wednesday in Tuscola, about 20 miles south of Champaign. Quinn’s challenger in next Tuesday’s election, businessman Bruce Rauner, said that while the jobs announcements are nice, the state would do better if it depended less on “special deals” to lure companies considering building or expanding. The fertilizer plant and Coyote Logistics’ plans include millions of dollars in state incentives. “Frankly if we reduced our overall tax burden and our overall regulatory burden, and kept a level playing field, we could get far more companies coming to Illinois and that will
See GOVERNOR, page A4
LOCAL NEWS
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LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Mercy merger
Harvard to state
D-300 tax levy
Mercy Health plans merger with Rockford Health System / A3
Hornets earn school’s first trip to state with 2-0 win over Peoria Christian / C1
Officials project about $4.8 million more in property taxes / A3
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