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Police: Child porn at day care home McHenry man accused of having material on computer at parents’ house By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com McHENRY – A McHenry man was arrested after police found child pornography on his computer at a residence also determined to be a licensed day care facility, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said. Michael L. Chaparro, 26,
was charged Tuesday with four counts of child pornography, each a Class 2 felony, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The arrest came after the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the Pennsylvania State Police identified a customer associated with an IP address downloading child porn, the release said.
It said the case was transferred to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office after the suspected IP address, obtained through a subpoena to the Internet service provider, came back to 4515 W. Ramble Road in McHenry. Chaparro lived there with his parents, Eva and Hector Chaparro, who reportedly run a state-licensed day care there with an en-
rollment of 10 children. Child pornography was found Tuesday on Chaparro’s computer during a search of the home, the release said. He was arrested at the home, but court documents indicate he posted bail and was released Wednesday. The Department of Children and Family Services was notified upon Chaparro’s arrest and has
developed a safety plan with the day care, which prohibits Chaparro from being present while children are there. The investigation is continuing and anyone with information about Chaparro that may help is encouraged to contact the Investigations Division at 815-334-4750. Chaparro is due in court Friday.
Michael L. Chaparro 26, of McHenry
Vote on incentive zone is delayed
OPERATION SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AMERICA
Woodstock weighs increasing perks By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
Photos by Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Joe Alger, chief operating officer for JA Frate in Crystal Lake, helps National Honor Society students from Crystal Lake South High School load boxes into a truck Thursday at Crystal Lake South for Operation Support Our Troops America, a program that delivers supplies to members of the armed forces serving overseas.
COLLECTED WITH CARE Schools, businesses gather supplies for overseas military members By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com
C
RYSTAL LAKE – An empty 53-foot trailer parked in front of Crystal Lake South High School on Thursday morning didn’t stay empty for long. A group of eight students and faculty members quickly loaded the truck with boxes full of supplies destined for troops overseas. Come Saturday, the entire trailer, which is memorialized with pictures of killed-in-action McHenry County service members, will be filled with supplies from various corners of the community, said Joe Alger of Crystal Lake. Working with volunteer organization Operation Support Our Troops America, Alger was joined by a myriad of local supporters in a three-week effort to collect much-needed items to eventually be shipped overseas. Alyssa Dick, high school senior and president of the Crystal Lake South National Honors Society, said the school contributed about 18 boxes of supplies. The collection – items from toothbrushes to socks to soap were donated – began right after Veteran’s Day.
National Honor Society students from Crystal Lake South help load boxes into a truck during a final pickup for Operation Support Our Troops America. “We asked people to bring in items and had a competition between classrooms,” she said, standing next to boxes brimming with granola bars and vitamins. “I would say we ended up getting over 1,000 items.” Three seniors at Prairie Ridge High School also dedicated hours of their time to benefit recipients they’ll likely never meet.
Haley Glenn, Maddie Nowakowski and Natalie Favia were introduced to the cause by one of their teachers. “We turned to each other and just decided, if we do this, we’re not going to do it halfway,” Glenn said. “We’re going to do it big.” For weeks, the students spread word to fellow classmates and walked up and down Route 14
soliciting businesses for donations. Their effort garnered about 25 boxes full of supplies. Additionally, they organized a fundraiser at Culver’s that raised $600 and had area elementary students write a total of 250 letters to send to troops. “I don’t think any of us realized how easy it was for us to do something like this,” Nowakowski said. And it wasn’t just students and schools that got involved. Alger, who is the chief operating officer of Crystal Lake-based JA Frate, said a number of local businesses and agencies took part, too, including Country Donuts, the Woodstock Police Department, TEQ Packaging and Sage Products, among several others. The supply drive has become an annual endeavor for Alger, a veteran of the U.S. Army like his son, father and grandfather. “I don’t know that any of these packages are going to save anyone’s life,” he said. “But what they will do is make [the troops] understand that the people back home haven’t forgotten them.” Alger on Saturday will take the truckload of supplies to Operation
WOODSTOCK – The Woodstock City Council recently postponed a vote on a proposal with nearby Harvard to spur regional economic development out of concern that the city’s business incentives were weak. During a meeting earlier this week, some council members said they thought the list of incentives the city staff developed for Woodstock’s joint enterprise zone application with Harvard weren’t as strong as Harvard’s proposed incentives. Noting the state’s financial woes, other members wanted the city to devise stronger incentives in general that would allow Woodstock to compete more aggressively for businesses with area communities closer to Interstate 90. “We don’t have enough going on in this state and in this county to apply caution out of the gate,” member Mike Turner said. “[The incentives] may not be the deciding factor for businesses, but let’s make it more of a factor than it otherwise would be. Let’s get as aggressive as possible.” Both Woodstock and Harvard in late November started working together on a joint enterprise zone, a special designation with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that would entitle the cities to state and local business incentives. If successful, both Woodstock and Harvard could start using the incentives by 2016 to recruit new businesses. The proposed zone spans nearly 7.7 square miles and covers many of Woodstock’s and Harvard’s industrial and commercial areas. Both communities crafted local incentives for the proposed zone, as part of the application. With the postponement, Woodstock officials will work to strengthen the city’s local incentives before the council takes a final vote Dec. 16 on the application. Woodstock staff initially wanted a manufacturer bringing 50 full-time jobs and investing at least $250,000 into
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Trustee changes course, will seek re-election to Cary Village Board / A3
Lame-duck Gov. Quinn left with few options on minimum wage / B3
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