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DECKED OUT Turn basic loaf of gingerbread into beautiful trifle for Christmas / D1 NWHerald.com
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Demographic shifts over the last 14 years provide clues to what McHenry County is going to look like in the future. We should expect to be older and more diverse. How well are we situated for the gradually changing population?
Bridging language barriers Agencies in county need bilingual staff By STEPHEN DI BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
Last-minute Christmas shoppers Regina Sabatini and her daughter, Tess Sabatini, of Prairie Grove pause Tuesday while deciding what shop on the Woodstock Square to visit next. The pair were hunting for “something golf related.”
Last-minute rush Shoppers pick up final gifts before Christmas arrives By EMILY K. COLEMAN
“You know everyone so well, but then you can’t think of anything.”
ecoleman@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – With Christmas celebrations ticking closer, shoppers took to the aisles to take care of some last-minute gifts. Large stores like Kohl’s, Toys R Us and Target, along with many of the locally owned businesses lining the downtowns of McHenry County communities, offered extended hours to get more of the procrastinating shoppers inside. The average shopper had about half of their shopping done as of Dec. 10, according to the National Retail Federation. About 9 percent of survey respondents told the retail trade association they would wait until the very last minute to buy their last gift. Tom DeMarco prefers the brick storefronts of downtown Crystal Lake to the big-box stores, he said, standing in The Flag Store early Tuesday evening with his
Tom DeMarco Last-minute Christmas shopper in Crystal Lake daughter. It reminds the Crystal Lake resident of Chicago, which is where he grew up. They were checking out a New York Jets banner. “You know everyone so well, but then you can’t think of anything,” he said with a laugh. Sisters Marcy White and Keely Sindler, both of Crystal Lake, also headed downtown Tuesday with their niece, Sam Wagner, who was visiting from Rockford for the holidays. Their go-to shop is Out of the Box, especially for their female cousins, they said. Sindler picked up a keepsake book for
her mother-in-law that will let her record memories and tidbits about her grandchildren. White selected earrings for a grab bag gift. Chris DiRaimondo of Cary, meanwhile, headed to the stores lining South Randall Road in Algonquin on Tuesday, figuring there were options in the area. “I’m not even sure what I’m looking for,” she said, pushing her cart through the toy aisle in Target. She was looking for a gift for her friends’ two boys, 4 and 6, who would be visiting. She had picked up some Ninja Turtles-themed toys, but was still mulling her options. After that, she had one more to go, something for her 15-year-old daughter to be bought on behalf of DiRaimondo’s mother who didn’t know what to get. How does it feel to be nearly done? “Good,” she said. “Really good, especially since I started last Thursday.”
Topinka’s death renews office merger talk By KERRY LESTER The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – The unexpected death of Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has rekindled an idea that proponents say could make Illinois government cheaper and more streamlined: merging the office with the state treasurer’s operation, as Wis- Judy Baar consin, Minneso- Topinka ta and Michigan have done. Democratic state Sen. Kwame Raoul and Republican state Sen. Matt Murphy plan to reintroduce the proposal in the General Assembly during next year’s session. Gov. Pat Quinn says it could be called “Judy’s Amendment,” because the late comptroller favored merging the offices.
But it’s an idea that has been beaten back for decades in Springfield, all the way to the 1970 constitutional convention. Veteran lawmakers remember principled arguments made against it there, although there are also more bureaucratic reasons for some to oppose it. Here’s a look at arguments for and against a merger:
Checks and balances Illinois’ comptroller is tasked with writing state checks, while the state treasurer is charged with investing state funds. With the two jobs so integrally connected, delegates at the 1970 constitutional convention held a lengthy and contentious debate over whether both offices were needed, state records show. Michael Howlett, then auditor of public accounts, state treasurer Adlai Stevenson and delegate Dawn Clark Netsch favored a merger.
Netsch, who later served as state comptroller, introduced an amendment that would have eliminated the treasurer’s office, which she called “inefficient” and “ineffective.” That amendment failed after some delegates argued that having both offices would help maintain checks and balances over the state’s fiscal matters and protect against scandals. One in the 1950s involved the embezzlement of more than $6 million in state funds by State Auditor Orville Hodge, who was responsible for paying bills before the comptroller’s office was established.
Legislative efforts One of the convention’s delegates who opposed a merger was a young Chicago Democrat named Michael Madigan, who years later as speaker of the House would block numerous efforts to hold a referendum
Voice your opinion Should the offices of state treasurer and state comptroller be combined? Vote online at NWHerald.com. in which voters could decide whether to amend the constitution to combine the offices. Although the state Senate passed bills calling for such a referendum in 1998, 2000 and 2011, they all became stuck in the House rules committee the speaker controls. Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said the speaker is concerned that merging the offices would make it difficult to maintain the oversight and safeguards that the comptroller’s office provides. But others say there could be political reasons that some lawmakers would prefer to keep
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tarting in 2015, the staff at Garden Quarter Neighborhood Resource Center plan to fill a service gap for a growing Latino population identified during the past decade as one most in need of community attention. Nestled inside a low-income apartment complex in McHenry, Garden Quarter is known for its youth program that has provided after-school assistance predominantly for Latino children coming from impoverished families. But an increasing number Inside of their Latino parents, who mostly speak only Spanish, Demand, are relying on Garden Quarter’s parent program, forcing accuracy staff to devise new programs drive interpreters’ work and avenues that connect them with Spanish-speaking at hospitals. services often lacking at PAGE A6 social service agencies in McHenry County. “Because we have seen such a demand for adult and parent services in Spanish, we are starting to grow our parent program,” Garden Quarter Executive Director Licia Sahagun said. “That’s really where we have seen the demand, both from our community here but also outside agencies [in the county].” Beginning in 2015, Garden Quarter will offer English as a second language (ESL) lessons, computer classes and parenting lessons in Spanish – the latter of which never has been offered in the county, Sahagun said. After making referrals, other social service agencies in the county see Spanish-speaking clients wait the longest for services since many nonprofits lack qualified bilingual staff. Dating to 2006, the county’s Healthy Community Survey – released every four years – has identified the Latino population as the foremost group needing more community attention because of its size, language barriers, low-income status and the array of services needed. The community spotlight comes as the growth among the Latino population in the county significantly outpaces other minority groups. The county’s Latino population totals more than 35,249 people, an 80 percent increase from 2000 to 2010, U.S. Census figures show. Among the issues identified in the 2014 Healthy Community Survey, many social service agencies reported having no or limited bilingual staff. The study, prepared by the Health Systems Research at the University of Illinois-Rockford campus, combined interviews with community leaders, an online community survey and research into demographic and social trends to identify needs and improvements. “I’ve seen a lot of other agencies in the county that are scrambling to find staff
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