PREP EXTRA
For full game coverage, see Prep Extra in today’s Sports section or visit McHenryCountySports.com.
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Friday’s playoff games
Saturday’s playoff games
St. Edward ............. 22 Harvard .................. 40 Marian Central ...... 42 Bremen .................... 8 Hampshire ............... 0 Kaneland................ 35
De La Salle at CL Central: 1 p.m. Alden-Hebron at Stockton: 1 p.m. Cary-Grove at Rockford Guilford: 1 p.m. Rich.-Burton at Evergreen Park: 5 p.m.
Prairie Ridge...........21 Lakes.......................14 Conant ................... 42 Jacobs .................... 35 Dundee-Crown .......13 OP-RF ..................... 35
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2013
Goal: A business boom Interchange nearly done, Huntley aims to develop I-90 area
75 CENTS
75 CENTS
Transport plan up for discussion County seeks input at series of public hearings By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
Cars drive through construction Oct. 14 at the intersection of Interstate 90 and Route 47 in Huntley. With construction work almost complete, Huntley officials, who lobbied for nearly 20 years to add the interchange, now will try to draw businesses to the area. By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com HUNTLEY – Once construction crews leave this fall, the top priority for Huntley is developing the area that surrounds the Interstate 90-Route 47 interchange with manufacturers and technological and industrial companies. Crews are in the final stretch of building a full interchange at the location that will for the first time open Huntley’s southern boundaries to commuters traveling from both the Chicago and Rockford areas. Once construction concludes within the next week
At a glance Construction started last spring to make a full interchange at Route 47 and Interstate 90. McHenry and Kane counties paid half of the $61 million cost; the Illinois Tollway Authority and IDOT paid the rest.
or so, Village Manager Dave Johnson and his staff can put a nearly 20-year effort to make Huntley fully accessible to I-90 traffic behind them. Huntley officials, who lobbied so long for an interchange, now will try to draw businesses to the area and turn their
dreams of using the interchange for economic growth into a reality. “We invested significant dollars to make the interchange a reality, and we believe the table is set now for positive economic growth and development in our community,” Johnson said. That investment began in the mid-1990s, when the village started pursuing partners to support the construction of a full I-90 interchange at Route 47. By the mid-2000s, the village conducted traffic and design studies to enhance its interchange plan.
See INTERCHANGE, page A5
“We invested significant dollars to make the interchange a reality, and we believe the table is set now for positive economic growth and development in our community.” Dave Johnson
Improvements to the county’s main arterial roads and Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest Line top the wants and needs list for McHenry County’s proposed new long-range transportation plan. County staff members are curious what you think of it. Six public hearings throughout the county are scheduled this month so residents can see the draft version of the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan for themselves and offer their opinions. The plan’s overall goals for transportation infrastructure through 2040 are to decrease congestion, make transportation safer, increase choices, provide mobility for all residents and preserve the environment. The plan highlights capacity and operational improvements for Route 47 through Woodstock and between Woodstock and Huntley, Route 31 in McHenry and between McHenry and Crystal Lake, Route 14 from Woodstock to Fox River Grove, Route 12 in Richmond and between Richmond and Fox Lake, and Randall Road between Crystal Lake and Algonquin. “The pressure to accommodate the nearly 100,000 workers commuting out of the county, over 40,000 workers coming into the county and 50,000 workers commuting within the county has created a demand to widen highways
Huntley village manager
If you go McHenry County is hosting six public hearings this month to present the draft version of the plan: • 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Lake in the Hills Village Hall, 600 Harvest Gate • 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Woodstock Opera House, 121 E. Van Buren St. • 3 to 7 p.m. Nov. 12, Harvard Diggins Library, 900 E. McKinley St. • 3 to 7 p.m. Nov. 14, Marengo City Hall, 132 E. Prairie St. • 3 to 7 p.m. Nov. 15, Crystal Lake City Hall, 100 W. Woodstock St. • 3 to 7 p.m. Nov. 18, McHenry Township Hall, 3703 N. Richmond Road, Johnsburg
See TRANSPORT, page A5
Food stamp cuts worry Ill. residents By SOPHIA TAREEN
At issue About 2 million Illinois residents, including about 886,000 children, will see food stamp reductions, the Illinois Hunger Coalition says.
The Associated Press CHICAGO – When Larry Bossom lost his information technology job a few months ago, he turned to a Chicago food pantry and the federal food stamps program to help make ends meet. On Friday, the 41-year-old became one of roughly 2 million Illinois residents whose food stamps benefits are being re-
duced. “It’s been a nice stopgap,” he said while picking up cereal and other goods at St. Ignatius Food Pantry on the city’s North Side. “You always figure out how to get by.” Friday was the first day a temporary benefit from the 2009 economic stimulus bolstering food stamp money was not available. A family of four could see up to $36 less a month through
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the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The cut also comes as federal lawmakers are negotiating further reductions to the program, which has more than doubled in cost since 2008. The change will affect about 47 million Americans. In Illinois, about 349,000 seniors and disabled people and roughly
See FOOD STAMPS, page A5
CARY
C-G JUNIOR FLOURISHES AT DISTANCE Cary-Grove’s Morgan Schulz will run at the IHSA Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional Meet at 10 a.m. Saturday at Busse Woods. The Trojans sprinter and hurdler has flourished as a distance runner, despite it being a new sport for her. “I surprised myself, I guess,” Schulz said. “I never thought I could run long distance, that isn’t my thing.” For more, see page C1.
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
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FOX RIVER GROVE: Upgraded Metra stop features longer platform, larger warming shelter. Local&Region, B1 Vol. 28, Issue 306
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Larry Bossom, 41, who lost his job a few months ago, leaves the St. Ignatius food pantry Friday in Chicago. He is relying on food stamps and the food bank until he finds work. AP photo