THURSDAY
Nove mbe r 13 , 2014 • $1 .0 0
SOUND OF SUCCESS Spring Grove native’s music to be featured in new film and Las Vegas show
Will Kruger
LOW
31 18
Planit Pl@y
Complete forecast on page A8
NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
HIGH
Facebook.com/NWHerald
@NWHerald
CL lawyer sentenced to 9 years Embezzled more than $1.2M from his clients By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
hen mc Hel om t t co ia.c R. S ed by hawm n o i s t stra en@ Illu lmch e h s
-
HIGHER EDUCATION College students struggle as price of textbooks continues to rise By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – As the economy lumbers along, the staff who run the McHenry County College bookstore are seeing more students turn to their textbook rental program to save costs. Seeing college textbook prices rise nationally since the late-2000s recession, the MCC bookstore staff have tried to turn students’ attention toward the rental program, which can save them up to 70 percent off the retail price for textbooks and course materials, store director Karen Smith said. “Students are saying, ‘This is ridiculous. I don’t want to pay $300 for two books,’” Smith said. “The concern is there, and the existence of rental programs is the direct result of how much books are costing students.” The average four-year college student spends about $1,200 a year on books and materials, according to The College Board. The data follows a decade of escalating textbook prices. From 2002 to 2013, the price of new college textbooks increased 82 percent – nearly three times the rate of inflation, according to a 2013 study from the U.S. Government
WOODSTOCK – According to prosecutors, there were two kinds of people w h o m attorney Curt Rehberg embezzled money from. Curt Rehberg “ H e stole from sick children and blue-collar workers,” Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Zalud said at a sentencing hearing for Rehberg. Rehberg, 50, was sentenced to nine years behind bars for embezzling more than $1.2 million from his clients. Rehberg, who practiced in Crystal Lake, was hired as the executor of several trust fund accounts but never distributed the cash to beneficiaries. In one instance, $524,836.94 was destined
for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but never made it. In another, $64,126.39 was supposed to pay for an ill woman’s medical treatment. All of the money was overseen by Rehberg, but none of it made it to its rightful owners. Instead, Rehberg pilfered from the trust account, once writing a $10,000 check to his daughter’s out-of-state college, prosecutors said. “What Curt Rehberg did was rob these people,” Zalud said. “… He robbed them after they were dead.” “A sophisticated grave robber is still a grave robber.” McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather sentenced Rehberg to nine years behind bars, and ordered him to pay restitution to the victims.
See EMBEZZLED, page A4
Casciaro, Lamb make court moves Appeals for DNA tests, new venue By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Criminal justice student Andrew Braddy of Hampshire (left) purchases a book from cashier Angela Donato of McHenry inside the McHenry County College bookstore in Crystal Lake. The price of textbooks has been rising quickly, according to NPR’s Planet Money, “Faster than clothing, food, cars, and even health care.” Accountability Office. Feeling increased competition from online retailers like Amazon, traditional textbook publishers have been pressured over the past decade to drive up prices, Smith
LOCAL NEWS
said. The bookstore tries to keep its resale price on textbooks affordable for students, marking up prices only to cover the store’s
STATE
WHERE IT’S AT
Residents against fracking
Advice ..................................C8 Buzz.................................... C10 Classified....................... D6-12 Comics .................................C9 Community ......................... B1 Local News...................... A2-6 Lottery..................................A2 Movies.......................Planit 19 Nation&World.................B4-5 Obituaries ...........................A7 Opinions ............................. B2 Planit Play .....................Inside Puzzles .............................D8-9 Sports............................... C1-6 State .................................... B3 Stocks...................................A7 Weather ...............................A8
Group of landowners sues Department of Natural Resources in bid to stop oil, gas drilling / B3 SPORTS
Investigating Island Lake fire The State Fire Marshal and other officials investigate the blaze that destroyed the Guru Nanak Sikh Mission on Tuesday night / A3
See COSTS, page A4
NCAA signing period begins Cary-Grove seniors Riley Mahoney and Rachael Underwood signed their letters of intent / C1
WOODSTOCK – Attorneys for Mario Casciaro are asking that evidence collected from a 2002 death investigation be DNA test- Mario ed, while Casciaro S h a n e Lamb is asking for new prosecutors and a change of venue. Both men are accused of playing a role in the disappearance of Johnsburg teen Brian Carrick, who went missing in 2002 and is pre-
sumed dead. Casciaro was convicted of Carrick’s murder largely on the testimony of Lamb, who said Casciaro ordered him to collect a drug debt from 17-yearold Carrick. At Casciaro’s triShane als, Lamb Lamb said he punched Carrick who “went down.” Prosecutors argued because Casciaro sent Lamb to talk to Carrick about the debt, Casciaro was legally responsible
See TRIAL, page A4
601 Ridgeview Drive in McHenry 815.322.7679 • Habla Español www.bullvalleydentistry.com
New Patient Adult Special
$59
Exam, X-rays, Routine Teeth Cleaning*, Implant or Orthodontic Consult (*not in the presence of gum disease) exp. 12/15/14 • must present coupon • new patients only • cannot be combined w/ other offers
New Patient Child Special
$49
Children’s Exam, X-rays, Cleaning, Flouride and ORTHODONTIC SCREENING exp. 12/15/14 • must present coupon new patients only • cannot be combined with other offers • valid on children up to age 16
Emergenices Welcome adno=0286478