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BOYS CROSS COUNTRY McHenry’s Jesse Reiser picked as Northwest Herald’s Runner of the Year / C2 NWHerald.com
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CHANGING OF THE GUARD Joe Gottemoller voted chairman of County Board By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Getting the McHenry County Board to run more smoothly and efficiently is high on the list of priorities for new Chairman Joe Gottemoller. With only one round of voting required Monday, Gottemoller, R-Crystal Lake, received the majority needed for the chairmanship, defeating challenger James Heisler, R-Crystal Lake, on a 15-9 vote. Monday’s vote to elect the chairman and vice chairman was the first duty of the newly seated County Board that voters elected Nov. 4. It also was the last time that electing the chairman will be up to the County Board. Voters in March approved a referendum making the chairman popularly elected to four-year terms starting in 2016. Gottemoller replaces Tina Hill, R-Woodstock, who decided after one twoyear term not to seek a second. “It is an honor and a humbling experience … to have confidence placed in me by all of you,” Gottemoller said. Gottemoller, a land use Yvonne attorney with Madsen SugBarnes den & Gottemoller in Crystal Lake, was elected to the County Board in 2012. He was appointed chairman of the Planning and Development Committee, where he was one of the leading figures in advancing the Unified Development Ordinance that board members ratified in October. Member Carolyn Schofield, R-Crystal Lake, nominated Gottemoller, with Michael Skala, R-Huntley, seconding. “Joe Gottemoller is a true leader. When Joe speaks, people listen,” Schofield said. Kind words also were spoken about Heisler, first elected in 1992 and the County Board’s longest-serving member. Yvonne Barnes, R-Cary, nominated him with Donna Kurtz, R-Crystal Lake, seconding. “He’s dedicated to service. He has no agendas, no objectives other than wanting our government to work transparently and honestly,” Kurtz said. One surprise Monday morning was that a third declared chairman candidate, John Hammerand, decided not to run. Heisler picked up a number of votes that otherwise would have gone to Hammerand, R-Wonder Lake. “I thought that the conditions were such that my support of Heisler was more important than my own political [aspirations],” Hammerand said after the meeting. Barnes ran unopposed for the vice chairman seat. She told board members that her role will be their “advocate” to help bring
Photos by Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
McHenry County Chief Judge Michael Sullivan (left) swears in Joe Gottemoller as chairman of the County Board on Monday at the county Administration Building in Woodstock. The McHenry County Board elected Gottemoller on a 15-9 vote and Yvonne Barnes was elected vice chairwoman.
New county sheriff: ‘It’s a new day’ By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
Bill Prim makes a quick speech Monday after he was sworn in as McHenry County sheriff. Prim is the first new sheriff in more than a decade.
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With change comes new energy, new focus. … We’ll have a friendly, more amicable relationship together. That will make the office more efficient.” Lou Bianchi, State’s attorney at incoming Sheriff Bill Prim’s reception Monday
See CHAIRMAN, page A4
WOODSTOCK – Bill Prim was sworn in Monday as McHenry County sheriff, becoming the first new sheriff in more than a decade. His first order of business? “Where’s the coffee?” Prim joked as he entered a reception in his honor. “I’m excited. It’s a new day, and we’ll take the challenges of the day as they come,” the sheriff later told the large gathering. “… I could not be happier, I could not be more proud than to be here in this moment.” Prim greeted the group then, one by one, shook the hands of the deputies who now call him “boss.” Prim introduced his three-person management team, which includes some heavy hitters from the Chicago-area law enforcement community.
See SHERIFF, page A2
Full Chicago City Council to take up minimum wage Tuesday By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press CHICAGO – Chicago is set to become the latest U.S. city to raise its minimum wage, as Mayor Rahm Emanuel fasttracks a politically popular plan to reach $13 an hour amid his bid for a second term and criticism he is out of touch with working people. A Chicago City Council committee voted late Monday to advance the plan, which is
expected to get full council approval Tuesday. The mayor moved the meeting up from Dec. 10 following concerns the Illinois Legislature would bow to business groups and pass a measure this week that would prevent cities from setting their wage higher than the state. Chicago currently has the same minimum wage as the state, at $8.25 an hour. The General Assembly is considering raising Illinois’ wage to $11 by 2017.
Emanuel is facing a challenge from progressive candidates who say he has been too cozy with business interests and hasn’t spent as much time looking out for people struggling Rahm Emanuel to make ends meet in the nation’s third-largest city. His top rivals in the February election, Cook
County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Alderman Bob Fioretti, favor a $15 wage. Chicago is the latest city to bypass a state legislature and seek action on the issue. Earlier this year, Seattle officials voted to phase in a $15-perhour wage. Portland, Maine, and Louisville are considering increases. Business groups and some Republicans argue raising the minimum wage will lead to job losses. Leaders of several
groups, including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, say setting Chicago’s wage higher than the rest of the state will put city businesses at a disadvantage, particularly in areas that border suburbs where the wage would be lower. They support a statewide increase to $10 to $11 an hour. “Chicago is not an island, and we’ve got to quit pretending that we are,” said Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants As-
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sociation. But the measures remain popular with voters. Oakland and San Francisco voters supported increases Nov. 4, as did voters in all four states with binding ballot measures: Alaska, Arkansas, South Dakota and Nebraska. Emanuel settled on $13 an hour after a recommendation from a task force he created earlier this year, when there
See WAGES, page A4
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