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HOW AFFORDABLE IS HOUSING IN McHENRY COUNTY?
New e-cig rules aim to stop vaping by minors Penalties in Marengo follow new statewide regulations By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com MARENGO – Children younger than age 18 caught purchasing or possessing electronic cigarettes in Marengo could face fines and community service under new regulations recently approved by the City Council. Businesses that sell the alternative nicotine products to minors also could face fines between $100 to $500 for a first offense. Another provision in the new ordinance requires businesses to post a sign notifying customers that sales of e-cigarettes and vaporizing liquids to underage individuals are prohibited. The local penalties follow new statewide regulations in effect this year that take aim at alternatives to tobacco and traditional cigarettes marketed toward kids, said police Chief Joseph Hallman. “We are trying to stay ahead of the game and be in compliance with state laws because these products are just as dangerous as nicotine,” he said. Hallman’s department has yet to see incidents of kids using alternative nicotine products, but the community resource officers at Maren-
“We are trying to stay ahead of the game and be in compliance with state laws because these products are just as dangerous as nicotine.”
Shaw Media file photo
Nationwide, apartment rents rose an average of 3.8 percent last year, according to data from Reis Inc., a real-estate research firm.
HOUSING CRUNCH
Joseph Hallman Marengo police chief
Apartment rental rates reach record highs as more renting
go schools do hear kids talk about the products, Hallman said Under the new regulations unanimously approved by aldermen Monday, a child caught purchasing or possessing alternative nicotine products for the first time could be fined $25 or ordered to perform 15 hours of community service. If a second violation happens within a year, a child could be fined $50 and ordered to do 25 hours of community service. Businesses or individuals caught selling
By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com McHENRY – There is no new phenomenon to the record-setting highs of housing rents across the nation, Julie Biel-Claussen said. Biel-Claussen, executive director of the McHenry County Housing Authority, said the national trend that caused rents to increase 3.8 percent to push the average monthly lease rate to $1,124 can be explained in the simplest economic terms – supply and demand. “We definitely need more affordable housing and just more housing,” Biel-Claussen said. “The landlords we work with are all decent. I don’t think they are trying to [hurt] residents. If there were more units available, I think we would see a [price] difference.” Biel-Claussen said the growing number
See E-CIGARETTES, page A2
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of renters and lack of new affordable housing is unsustainable and has a real effect on county residents. She said while it is easy to view McHenry County as an affluent area, there are thousands of residents in need of housing assistance. The waiting list for housing assistance has fallen from 2,500 people to 1,500 people in the two and half years since it was closed. But the remaining 1,500 people still waiting might not receive assistance for another four years, Biel-Claussen said, adding the rising rental rates have required the agency to pay more for the 920 people currently in
the program. McHenry County Housing Authority uses the fair market rent – set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – to determine how much it will pay landlords on tenants’ behalf. The housing authority was able to pay the same amount in 2013 and 2014 because the fair market rent increased by only 1 percent. In McHenry County, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment grew modestly from $966 to $979 between 2013 and 2014 and a four-bedroom unit increased from $1,436 to $1,455. But from 2013 to 2015, there has been a 12 percent increase on average, with two-bedrooms now costing $1,093 and four-bedrooms $1,624. Biel-Claussen said the housing authority has had to increase its payments by 7 percent
See HOUSING, page A2
Obama asks Congress for fresh war powers Vows that Islamic State group is ‘going to lose’ By DAVID ESPO and NEDRA PICKLER The Associated Press
AP photo
President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, gestures as he speaks about the Islamic State group Wednesday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. Obama asked Congress to authorize military force against the Islamic State.
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WASHINGTON – Vowing that Islamic State forces are “going to lose,” President Barack Obama urged Congress on Wednesday to authorize military action against terrorists who are cutting a swath across the Middle East. Yet he ruled out largescale U.S. ground combat operations reminiscent of Iraq and Afghanistan.
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“I’m convinced that the United States should not get dragged back into another prolonged ground war,” the president said at the White House as he set Congress on a path to its first war-powers vote in 13 years. Despite his words of reassurance, initial reaction in Congress amounted to bipartisan skepticism, with much of the dissatisfaction centered on his attempt to find a political middle ground with respect to ground forces. Republicans expressed unhappiness that he had chosen to exclude any longterm commitment of ground forces, while some Democrats voiced dismay that he had opened the door to deployment at all. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also said
See OBAMA, page A5
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Local ticket ‘sales are brisk’ McHenry County fans loyal to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ despite controversy / Planit 8-9
Obama had ruled out air support for U.S.trained rebels battling Syrian President Bashar Assad, adding, “That’s immoral.” Under Obama’s proposal, the use of military force against Islamic State fighters would be authorized for three years, unbounded by national borders. The fight could be extended to any “closely related successor entity” to the Islamic State organization that has overrun parts of Iraq and Syria, imposed a stern form of Sharia law and killed several hostages it has taken, Americans among them. “Make no mistake. This is a difficult mission,” Obama said in seeking action
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