SATURDAY
Febru a r y 14 , 2 015 • $1 .0 0
GIRLS HOOPS Huntley tops Hampshire for unofficial FVC overall title / C1 NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
HIGH
14 -8 Complete forecast on page A10
Facebook.com/NWHerald
Building demolition sparks legal battle
LOW
@NWHerald
Club wants vests back Motorcycle group’s items seized after bar brawl in 2012 By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Debra Foster of Crystal Lake stands in front of her eight-unit apartment building in Ringwood that was recently torn down. The complex was damaged in a 2006 fire, and Foster has been fighting the village in court ever since, trying to convince judges and village officials to let her repair the building.
Village fought owner’s attempts to repair apartments By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com RINGWOOD – Debra Foster’s eight-year legal battle with Ringwood officials over the fate of her fire-ravaged apartment building came crashing down Tuesday. Foster, the owner of a badly
burned eight-unit apartment building at 5024 Barnard Mill Road, was shocked to see her property demolished Tuesday – one day after she lost another appeal that would have prohibited the eventual demolition of the building. Foster, of Crystal Lake, was used to losing appeals in the case,
but each time, demolition orders would include a window for Foster to collect any personal belongings in the building and work with a contractor of her own to perform the demolition. She did not expect the building to be knocked to the ground 24 hours after the latest court ruling.
“How can you just demolish a property I own?” Foster said. “I owned it, not Ringwood. I had thousands of dollars of belongings in there. They had no right to do this.” Village officials disagree. Each of the three times Foster appealed
See DEMOLITION, page A4
WOODSTOCK – From a McHenry County witness stand, detectives offered a rare glimpse inside a motorcycle gang, a perspective not routinely offered to the public – save for prime-time TV. At issue were three black leather vests with patches and insignia that identify with the McHenry County Outlaw Motorcycle Club. The items were seized as part of a criminal investigation stemming from a bar fight in November 2012 in Wonder Lake. Prosecutors said the leather is contraband and was used in street gang activity. Joel Rabb, attorney for the American Outlaw Association, is fighting to get the vests returned and said it’s not illegal to be an Outlaw, and what the club members were wearing during the commission of the crime is irrelevant. A forfeiture hearing was held Friday before McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather, who will decide if the leather vests will remain property of the sheriff’s office or be returned to the organizations. The hearing didn’t conclude after an afternoon of witness testimony, so Prather continued the matter until March 3 when she will hear closing arguments. Going beyond determining the fate of the leather vests,
See CLUB, page A2
Rauner creating task force on government consolidation By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed an executive order Friday creating a task force aimed at paring down Illinois’ huge number of local governments. The order, which he signed at a ceremony in Elmhurst, creates the Local Government and Consolidation and Unfunded Mandate Task Force, headed by Lt. Gov. Evelyn
Sanguinetti. The task force is charged with finding efficiencies and encouraging streamlining of local governments, while also examining the burdens that state government puts on them by imposing regulations on them without accompanying funding. “Illinois leads the nation with nearly 7,000 units of government. Many of these unnecessary layers of government are why hardworking families end up paying some of the
SPORTS
highest property taxes in the nation,” Rauner said. Rauner’s choice of DuPage County to sign the order is a symbolic one – he praised the ongoing consolidation efforts o f D u P a g e Bruce Rauner County Board Chairman Dan Cronin in his State of the State Address last
week. The board is in the process of eliminating some of its smallest and most obscure units of local government through a pilot program created by state legislators. R a u n e r Jack Franks will appoint the task force, which will be required to submit its findings by the end of
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Injured man gets help
Advice ..................................C8 Buzz.................................... C10 Classified......................... D1-6 Comics ................................C11 Local News......................A2-4 Lottery..................................A2 Movies................................. C9 Nation&World................ A5-6 Neighbors.........................B1-6 Obituaries ...........................A7 Opinions ............................. A9 Puzzles .............................E4, 6 Sports................................C1-7 State .................................... A5 Stocks...................................A7 Weather .............................A10
Fundraisers aim to help pay medical costs for Algonquin man hurt in alleged DUI crash / A3 STATE
‘I thought I was in trouble’ West Dundee native Ryan Hartman called up to Blackhawks, makes NHL debut against New Jersey after stint in Rockford / C1
the year. The newly elected governor has said he wants to make property tax relief one of his top priorities. At more than 6,900, Illinois has more units of government than any other state, and 2,000 more than the first runner-up of Pennsylvania. Only New Jersey has a higher average property tax burden than Illinois, according to a late 2013 report by the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
While supporters maintain that local government means local control, opponents argue that they are breeding grounds for waste, patronage and corruption because the sheer number makes it almost impossible for taxpayers and watchdog groups to keep an eye on them. McHenry County alone has 30 municipalities, 19 school districts, 17 townships, 17 fire
See CONSOLIDATION, page A4
County fairs boost economy Study: County fairs generate money but continue to see decline in state funds / A5
adno=0307559