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Finding the right coverage a bitter pill to swallow
P-R co-op boast depth, camaraderie
FOOD STAMPS RISE IN STATE
Jada Berkland
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.
UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS AT THE SAME TIME
Hacker group to rally at Woodstock meeting
By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com
H
unger likes to hide, but Angie Reeks sees it up close. And although the recession is over and the county’s unemployment rate has fallen to 6.8 percent, from Reeks’ perch, the need is as great as ever. Based on food stamps use trends within the county – nearly tripling since the start of the recession before recent signs of leveling off – Reeks’ perception is right on. As a social services case worker for The Salvation Army of McHenry County, Reeks acts as a distributor – the introducer of those who need something to those who have it and are willing to give it. She knows how heavily her clients rely on federal programs such as food stamps. When there are cuts – such as those that went into effect in early November – her clients feel it. Now, with Congress deciding not if, but how much, to cut food stamp benefits under a proposed new farm bill, she envisions a greater burden for her struggling clients and the efforts scattered across the county to help them. “The Crystal Lake Food Pantry is the biggest food pantry we have in the county and their resources are stretched,” Reeks said. “That tells me something really scary.” Although the McHenry County unemployment rate peaked in January 2010 at 11.9 percent, county use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program continued to soar each year since the recession. SNAP still is known by most as food stamps even though goods are now bought through a reloadable card. Enrollment in the program peaked in spring before declining by 5.5 percent from March to September, the most recent month the data from the Illinois Department of Human Services is available. In January 2008, about 7,600 McHenry County residents received SNAP benefits at a cost of $856,000 to the federal government, which funds the program. In September, more than 20,700 county residents were receiving the benefits. Last month, the program paid out $2.7 million within the county – a 215 percent increase since before the recession. The continued rise of SNAP even as unemployment rates decline isn’t contained to the area, but recent figures show the trend is magnified here. Nationally, 47.8 billion people were enrolled in SNAP at the end of last year – up 70 percent since 2008. While the number of people using the program across the country rose 2.7 percent from February
Local push for Amati’s firing goes to council By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com
Illustration by R. Scott Helmchen – shelmchen@shawmedia.com
2012 to February 2013, it rose 10.5 percent in Illinois, the highest of any state, according to an analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute. The rate went up by 14.8 percent in McHenry County during the same time period. “We’ve got a structural problem,” said Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy for the Illinois Policy Institute. “When you look at the rest of the economy, when you look at the debt, when you look at the pensions, when you look at the unpaid bills, you see a very sick and poor-performing economy. And the only way we’re helping people is by adding them to food stamps.” In the past dozen years, most states have relaxed the standards individuals need to qualify for SNAP, mainly by changing or eliminating maximum asset requirements.
ABOUT THIS SERIES 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.
THE SERIES DAY-BY-DAY 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
See STAMPS, page A6 WEDNESDAY
INSIDE: The number of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches is on the rise. Page A6 ONLINE: For information and to read other installments in the series, visit NWHerald.com.
LOCALLY SPEAKING
A look at how overburdened local social service agencies have become
WOODSTOCK – A few local efforts to get Woodstock Sgt. Charles “Chip” Amati fired will hit the Woodstock City Council meeting Tuesday. The Chicago chapter of the international hacker group Anonymous has planned a rally at City Hall, 121 W. Calhoun St., At a during the 7 p.m. meeting. glance A separate, loosely formed group of Woodstock resiWoodstock dents have prepared sevSgt. Charles eral talking points, which “Chip” they’ll present to the City Amati was Council Tuesday. suspended Joseph Monack, a member of the local group without pay formed on Facebook un- for the cityder “Amati Must Go,” said maximum 30 he expects a better turnout days after an Tuesday than two weeks investigation ago when he was the only revealed he sent inapone who spoke. He said the group has propriate text been better organized messages to since that night, and held a 12-year-old a recent meeting to pre- girl and mispare a speech for the coun- used the Law cil. Enforcement “A lot more this time Agencies have committed,” he said. Data System. A n o t h e r I n t e r n e t - In Illinois, the grown effort from Anony- latter falls mous has planned an event under official titled “Op Woodstock IL” misconduct, for the council meeting. a Class 3 The group is meeting at felony. The the train station at 6:30 McHenry p.m. and marching to County City Hall, according to the State’s Facebook event. Attorney’s Woodstock Police Chief Robert Lowen said the de- Office elected partment is not planning not to pursue to have extra police pres- charges ence at Tuesday’s meet- against Amati. ing. Anonymous, which has pushed several other cases toward national attention with rigorous awareness efforts, caught wind of the situation at the Woodstock Police Department earlier this month. Monack said the Amati Must Go effort wasn’t affiliated with Anonymous. Amati, a 24-year veteran of the department, was suspended without pay for the city-maximum 30 days after an investigation revealed he sent inappropriate text messages to a 12-year-old girl and misused the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System. In Illinois, the latter falls under official misconduct, a Class 3 felony. The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office elected not to pursue charges against Amati.
DISTRICT 47
McHENRY
KATHY HINZ NAMED SUPERINTENDENT
RIVERWALK PROJECT MOVES FORWARD
Kathy Hinz was named the permanent superintendent of Crystal Lake School District 47 on Monday after serving in an interim role for the past six months. Board members unanimously approved Hinz for the position. She will officially start Jan. 1. For
For the first time since the McHenry Riverwalk was installed nearly seven years ago, the walkway will be extended. The City Council accepted the low bid of about $314,000 placed by Landmark Contractors Inc. of Huntley for the extension of the riverwalk at its meeting Monday evening. For more, see page B1.
more, see page B1.
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Vol. 28, Issue 351 Harvard’s Angel Sanchez (left) and Hebron’s Cody Nelson Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
HEBRON: Harvard boys basketball team pulls away from Alden-Hebron in 58-29 win. Sports, C1
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