MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013
NWHERALD.COM
75 CENTS
SPORTS, B1 • CHICAGO BEARS 38, CLEVELAND BROWNS 31
WIN KEEPS BEARS’ PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE n Morrissey: Jeffery may have saved Trestman from criticism
n Arkush: Jay Cutler rusty early on, but he got the job done
NO HOUSE TO CALL HOME
Earl Bennett
A NORTHWEST HERALD SERIES
An estimated 23,277 people in McHenry County live in poverty – a 41 percent jump over five years earlier. Half of the poor in the Chicago area are now suburban compared with a third in 1990.
Sticker shock hits exchange shoppers Deductibles fuel worry about health insurance By CARLA K. JOHNSON The Associated Press
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Leah Taylor (left), 3, Maurice Hardy, 7, and Denzel Hardy, 2, play outside of a McDonald’s in McHenry with their mother, Rachel Hardy, and brother, Issace Taylor, 1. The family has been living at Home of the Sparrow since May and soon will be homeless when the family has to leave the shelter.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
HOUSING PRICES LEAVE MORE PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR SHELTER, ASSISTANCE
This series seeks to examine the impact in McHenry County of poverty’s transition from a traditionally urban problem to a more common suburban issue.
By JEFF ENGELHARDT • jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
THE SERIES DAY-BY-DAY
C
RYSTAL LAKE – In less than 24 hours Rachel Hardy would be homeless. The harsh reality was biting harder than the sub-zero temperatures that awaited her outside of the temporary warm haven provided by a McHenry McDonald’s. Tomorrow’s forecast – her first day without four walls and a roof over her head – called for temperatures dropping to -15 degrees with the wind chill. Thoughts of braving the cold were still warmer than thoughts of going back to her ex. She would take a cold sidewalk before she took another blow from him. But decisions were never that simple for the 23-year-old mother of four. She had some family in Memphis, some in Texas, but access to transportation and communication
are hard to come by for a young, single mother with one foot out of a shelter. “I don’t know,” she said as she shook her head, failing to completely hold off the tears while she thought about where she could go.
A GROWING PROBLEM All Julie Biel-Claussen needs to do is look at the stack of paper on her desk to know the demand for low-income housing continues to grow. The stack of paper on the desk of the executive director for the McHenry County Housing Authority gets taller every year. “When I first started here in 2007 our waiting
See HOUSING, page A7
INSIDE: Public transportation sometimes helpful, sometimes not. Page A8 ONLINE: For more information, and to read other installments in the series, visit NWHerald.com.
SUNDAY Living on minimum wage
MONDAY The struggle with finding affordable housing and transportation
TUESDAY The steady increase in the use of food stamps and the number of school children on a free/ reduced lunch program
WEDNESDAY A look at how overburdened local social service agencies have become
CHICAGO – The next big challenge for the nation’s health care law may be sticker shock, when consumers find they’re still paying high medical bills after buying low-cost insurance for the first time. With a Dec. 23 deadline looming for anyone who wants health insurance by Jan. 1, people may hurry to choose plans with cheap monthly payments on a new insurance marketplace. But they may be surprised, especially if they’ve never had coverage before, to find they’re still on the hook for thousands of dollars in outof-pocket “deductibles,” a standard part of most insurance policies. Many will find they must pay costs up to $6,350 – on top of their monthly premiums – before their insurance pays anything for actual medical care. If they have a family, they may have to pay nearly $13,000 in an out-of-pocket “deductible” before insurance starts paying. Adrienne If you don’t know about Matzen, deductibles, you’re not an actor in alone. Only 14 percent of Chicago, American adults with inwill shop for surance understand deductibles and other key insurance on concepts of insurance the federal plans, according to a study website and published this year in the will look for a Journal of Health Eco- low monthly premium, nomics. If people with insur- even if it ance don’t understand it, means a high it’s likely that uninsured deductible. Americans’ grasp is even fuzzier. If they make poor decisions when shopping for insurance for the first time, they may be surprised that the law’s promise of affordable care, for them, is still out of reach. About 1.8 million Illinoisans are uninsured, about 14 percent of the total population, according to estimates based on Census data. Under President Barack Obama’s new law, almost everyone is required to get insurance or face a fee on their federal income taxes if they aren’t covered by March 2014. The new marketplace is where people can shop for insurance plans by tiers – bronze, silver, gold and platinum – based on what portion of medical costs are covered. Bronze plans are expected to be popular because they tend to have lower
See EXCHANGE, page A7
LOCALLY SPEAKING
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
LOW
20 16 Complete forecast on A10
CL RAIDERS WIN LOCAL SUPER BOWL With a dominant offensive line, the Crystal Lake Raiders won The Chicagoland Youth Football League PAC10 Heavyweight Super Bowl on Nov. 16 at Carmel in Mundelein. The Raiders had a distinct advantage against their opponents because of the size of their offensive linemen. The group averaged more than 200 pounds. Sports, B5
Denise Edwards
HIGH
CRYSTAL LAKE
MARENGO: Woman overcomes four bouts of cancer, earns long-sought bachelor’s degree in time for Christmas. Local, A3
Where to find it Advice Classified Comics
B10 C1-8 B9
Vol. 28, Issue 350 Local&Region Lottery Obituaries
A3 A2 A4
Opinion Puzzles Sports
A9 C6-7 B1-8
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