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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
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D-155 teachers willing to strike Work stoppage could be avoided if board accepts binding arbitration offer By JEFF ENGELHARDT
Voice your opinion Who has more of your support in the School District 155 contract dispute? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Community High School District 155 teachers have taken preliminary steps to go on strike, pending a binding arbitration offer to the board of education. Justin Hubly, president of the District 155 Education Associa-
tion, said that for the first time in its nearly 40-year history, the organization held a strike authorization vote Sunday. A nearly unanimous vote for a strike was recorded with 99.4 percent of the 440 members in favor. “We are terribly disappointed that we were forced to take this vote,” Hubly said in a statement. “I never thought that we would
see a strike authorization vote in District 155, but the overwhelming support of the membership shows how unfairly we are being treated by the Board of Education.” The vote allows the union to call a strike if necessary once the requirements of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act are met.
LOOKING BACK
A strike still could be avoided if the board accepts a binding arbitration agreement offered by the union. A binding arbitration would authorize a third party to make a ruling that both the union and the board would agree to honor in advance. Board President Ted Wagner said the board would meet to discuss the arbitration option, but
Recovering addicts learned from their past drug use
no meeting or discussions have taken place at this point. A decision is not likely within the coming days as Wagner prepares to leave for a business trip Friday. “The board’s goal is to maintain long-term fiscal stability that allows us to keep in place the high level of educational
See D-155, page A4
Illinois leaders OK tax breaks Still no action on pension deal By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press
Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
Chris Reed (far right) and Ryan Hagen talk about their experiences with drug addiction Tuesday while at The Other Side in Crystal Lake. Both men began using drugs in their early teens. Reed now is the president of The Other Side and New Directions Addiction Recovery Services, which offers a sober social environment for former addicts. By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com
D
uring the summer before Chris Reed’s freshman year in high school, he wanted to socialize with members of a club hockey team and thought the only way to do so was to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. “It seemed like the social thing to do,” Reed said. “It seemed normal. It was fun. It wasn’t so much peer pressure. It was they were having fun, and
I wanted to do that, too.” Marijuana and alcohol use over the years led to relying on prescription painkillers and experimenting with ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. He also started using cocaine. By his senior year in high school, the former Jacobs student had started using heroin. As former addicts look back, they have learned that some people have genetic predispositions toward drug abuse, and that there are other ways to socialize without drug use.
As McHenry County and other suburban areas grapple with a growing heroin problem, former addicts have also learned there is hope and recovery. Reed, now 23 and living in Fox River Grove, said he developed a need for alcohol or drugs to be social with his peers. “No matter what we did, like see a movie ... there was going to be drinking involved if we were going to have a
"It got to the point where I felt like I had to do [drugs] to feel normal, to be comfortable around people."
See RECOVERING, page A4
from Lake in the Hills
Ryan Hagen, 23, of
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday advanced tax breaks worth millions of dollars for Archer Daniels Midland Company and the newly merged OfficeMax and Office Depot, but they were set to end their fall session without taking action on an issue that could be a roadblock for those deals: the state’s $100 billion pension shortfall. Gov. Pat Quinn has said he won’t consider – much less sign – any corporate incentives until legislators put a bill on his desk that addresses the unfunded pension Gov. Pat liability, which is Quinn the worst of any state. House Speaker Michael Madigan said Wednesday no agreement is coming this week, and he hopes lawmakers will be able to return to Springfield before the end of the year to pass “meaningful” reform. But any pension agreement will need the backing of a majority of both the House and Senate – support that has been elusive for years and continues to be tough to drum up. “We’re in some very difficult, challenging negotiations, and
See TAX BREAKS, page A4
LOCALLY SPEAKING
CARY-GROVE FOOTBALL
FRESHMAN NOT PLAYING LIKE ONE Freshman Tyler Pennington started the season at defensive end. Then, he played some strong safety and running back. After three games, coach Brad Seaburg had seen enough to make a bold move – he moved Pennington to fullback, the ultra-important position in the Trojans’ triple-option offense.
Connor Arevalo, 7
For more, see page C1.
Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
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