THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2013
WWW.NWHERALD.COM
The only daily newspaper published in McHenry Co.
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HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS • PLANIT PLAY, 8-10
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY • SPORTS, C1
McHenry County offers music, plays and more
McHenry’s Jesse Reiser named Runner of the Year
Ill. officials OK pension proposal
GIVING HOPE TO THE HUNGRY
Special legislative session to approve new plan is next week By KERRY LESTER and SARA BURNETT The Associated Press CHICAGO – Under growing public pressure to act, the leaders of Illinois’ General Assembly announced Wednesday they’d reached an agreement on how to solve the state’s $100 billion pension problem. Officials will begin trying to persuade other lawmakers to approve it in a special legislative session next week. The deal was a significant breakthrough after months of negotiations and years of unheeded calls to shore up what’s considered the nation’s worst public pension shortfall. Without action, millions of dollars have been diverted from education and other programs and forced financial service companies to repeatedly lower the state’s credit rating. But getting final approval
for the deal in the full House and Senate is no sure thing: State employee unions are adamantly opposed to the curtailing of workers’ benefits, there’s a constitutional challenge on the horizon and many lawmakers already are in the throes of 2014 re-election campaigns. “It’s going to Michael be a very diffiMadigan, Ill. Speaker of cult roll call (of votes). Unions the House will be against the bill,” House Speaker Michael Madigan told reporters after the morning meeting in which the deal was reached. Madigan told reporters that the proposed agreement would save the state an estimated $160 billion over 30 years.
By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – The Woodstock Police Department’s spokesman has been suspended for 30 days after an investigation into inappropriate texts to his former girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter also revealed misuse of a state law enforcement database to look up the girlfriend’s criminal record. Sgt. Charles “Chip” Amati, a 24-year veteran of the force, was suspended without pay for 30 days by the city’s Board
Community Harvest expects annual event to bring in more than 80,000 pounds of food
See PENSIONS, page A11
Woodstock cop gets 30-day suspension Investigation finds misuse of database, inappropriate texts
Photos by Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Gearing up for the annual food drive event in which volunteers give up time on Thanksgiving to sort and organize food for the food pantry, Clay Comeaux of Crystal Lake donates time with his family at the drop-off location of the Crystal Lake Food Pantry Tuesday in Crystal Lake. Businesses, churches and individuals joined to donate 2,100 pounds of food on Tuesday alone.
of Police and Fire Commissioners, Police Chief Robert Lowen said Wednesday. But he will not face any criminal charges for either texting the girl or misusing the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System to check her mother’s background. Lowen called the suspension “all-encompassing” for the texts and misusing the LEADS system he coordinated for the department. The Chicago Tribune reported Amati had texted the girl in August asking her to send him “sexy pictures” – she did not reply. “We feel the discipline is appropriate in light of the circumstances, and we also feel there is sufficient basis
By JEFF ENGELHARDT
If you go
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
n What: Crystal Lake Community Harvest. Hundreds of volunteers will gather to organize and package tens of thousands of pounds of food for the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. n When: 8 to 11 a.m. Thursday. Residents can continue to drop off food donations until 10 a.m. n Where: 100 S. Main St., Crystal Lake
J
ay Gorski’s vacation has been hard work. After three years of volunteering for the Community Harvest food drive, Gorski decided to take this week off work to increase his efforts for the annual event by taking a lead role in sorting and weighing food, organizing volunteers and spreading the word about the Thanksgiving morning event. With more than 80,000 pounds of food expected to come through the doors and roughly 1,000 volunteers donating time, Gorski’s vacation has been no easy task. “In terms of help, we’ve had a lot more this year than in the past and the event is definitely growing,” Gorski said. “But the need is grow-
Georgann Comeaux of Crystal Lake donates time at the drop off location. According to Cate Williams, president of the Crystal Lake Food Pantry, a growing percentage of seniors have been recipients of donations. This food drive allows the Crystal Lake Food Pantry to help 800 families with food twice a month. ing, too. All this food will probably be distributed in four or five months.” It’s the dedication from residents such as Gorski that has helped the annual Community Harvest grow in the past 20 years from a couple bags of food from the Cub Scouts and a handful of volunteers to the largest
See SUSPENSION, page A11
LOCALLY SPEAKING
CRYSTAL LAKE
HUNTLEY CAN’T HOLD ON, LOSES 56-54 There were too many problems that the Huntley boys basketball team felt should have been fixed in its 56-54 loss to Hoffman Estates in the Coaches vs. Cancer Thanksgiving Tournament on Wednesday at the Crystal Lake Central Fieldhouse. Huntley (0-2) led at halftime, but the Hawks (1-1) caught fire in the second half and wiped out the lead. For more, see page C1.
Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
HIGH
LOW
31 14 Complete forecast on A14
HUNTLEY: Curiosity, deep-fried treats draw many attendees to the 31st annual Turkey Testicle Festival. Local, B1 Vol. 28, Issue 332
Where to find it Advice Business Classified Comics
C11 E1-8 F1-14 C13
Crossword F8 Local&Region B1-8 Lottery A2 Movies C14
Obituaries Opinion Puzzles Sports
B5 A13 F9 C1-10
and most important event for the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. The event – a joint effort between the Crystal Lake Chamber, Crystal Lake Jaycees and Crystal Lake Food Pantry – aims to collect food and funds for the pantry throughout
See FOOD DRIVE, page A11
By the numbers
$19,377 Revenue from last year’s event
85,985 Pounds of food gathered from last year’s event
1,000 Number of volunteers expected to donate time to this year’s food drive