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Officials consider change in rule
McHENRY COUNTY BUDGET VS. HIGHER JURY PAY
WEIGHING THE SCALES
County Board move would eliminate members’ comments By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Illustration by R. Scott Helmchen – shelmchen@shawmedia.com
Jury pay by the numbers
Local officials brace for jury pay increase to take effect in June By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Every Monday, about 130 McHenry County residents are summoned to the courthouse in Woodstock, where on the third floor they line up outside the jury assembly room. Some sleepy-eyed folks grumble about their civic duty, but the greater majority wait patiently in line, jury summons in hand. Their pay for the day is a pittance, some say, pointing out the $5 a day reimbursement is not enough to cover lunch or travel expenses. “No one serves on a jury with the idea that they’ll make money, or make up what they lost
2013 $37,199
$125,322
Mileage
$64,448 Petit juries
[in wages],” said John D. Cooney, president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. “But you don’t want to punish them for doing their civic duty. That’s not right. “The pay for jurors is not only ridiculously low, it’s uneven, and it’s really almost insulting.” Under new legislation, jurors could get a steep raise and it has local officials bracing for the worst. Taking effect in June, the new law increases juror pay to $25 for the first day and $50 for subsequent days. In McHenry County’s 22nd Circuit, where the average jury duty lasts two days, jurors are paid at $5 for the first day,
Grand juries
total amount spent on jury pay in McHenry County
$23, 675 $23,675
2014 $42,860
$145,322 $145,206
Mileage
$78,733 Petit juries
Grand juries
See JURY PAY, page A4
total amount spent on jury pay in McHenry County
$23, 613 $23,613
If this is something that’s determined to move forward, then I’ll be asking the County Board for more money.
Estimated 2015
Estimated 2016
$257,612
$370,018
Source: McHenry County 22nd Judicial District
Dan Wallis, court administrator
Graphic by Sandra Rodriguez – srodriguez@shawmedia.com
WOODSTOCK – McHenry County Board members’ ability to sound off on whatever is on their minds at the end of their full meetings will be curtailed under a proposed rule change working its way through committee. While supporters call it a needed change to increase efficiency and promote civility they say has become too lacking to ignore, at least one opponent calls it an effort to muzzle several of the County Board’s more vocal members, especially in the wake of a contentious discussion over alleged nepotism in county government hiring. The proposed change to County Board rules would eliminate the members’ comments portion of the meeting and add a vote at the Mike Skala start of the meeting to adopt the agenda. Board members wanting to discuss a particular subject would have to move to add it to the agenda, which would then be approved by a simple majority. A Mike Walkup majority of the Management Services Committee on Monday morning agreed to bring the changes up for a vote upon complete review of board rules, which the committee does after every November election. Committee Vice Chairman Mike Skala, R-Huntley, tried to make this change during the last rules review in 2012 and is making another try now. “I brought this up because, in my time on the board, members’ comments have been, more often than not, platforms for board members to make statements that are not germane to county business,” Skala said. But committee member Mike Walkup, R-Crystal Lake, disagrees. He calls the proposed change an attempt to marginalize his voice and several others, pointing to his remarks at the last full County Board meeting about his concerns over the
See BOARD, page A4
Huntley official defends stalled rail project during Springfield trip By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com HUNTLEY – A top Huntley official recently met the acting state transportation secretary in Springfield and reinforced the economic benefits of a proposed Amtrak route put in limbo by an executive order from Gov. Bruce Rauner. Village Manager Dave Johnson, area state lawmakers and Rockford officials all met last week with Randall Blankenhorn, appointed by Rauner as the acting secretary for
the Illinois Department of Transportation, to make a regional plea for the stalled Amtrak project. Although he left Springfield without renewed assurance on the rail line, Johnson felt the group justified the reasons why an Amtrak route from Chicago to Rockford should continue with stops in Elgin, Huntley and Belvidere. “We wanted to continue to make the case on the importance of the project, not just for passenger rail service, but for the economic impact to the region,” Johnson said.
State Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, and Sen. Karen McConnaughay, R-St. Charles, were among the state lawmakers who attended the Springfield meeting, Johnson said. The sit-down meeting with state transportation officials happened as uncertainty clouds IDOT’s agreement with Union Pacific Railroad. The deal would restart passenger rail service between Chicago and Rockford for the first time since the
See HUNTLEY, page A4
Sarah Nader file photo – snader@shawmedia.com
Charles Nordman, Huntley’s director of development services, and Lisa Armour, assistant village manager, talk Feb. 6 near the site of the proposed Amtrak route through Huntley. Village officials, state lawmakers and Rockford officials recently met in Springfield with the state’s acting transportation secretary to reinforce the economic benefits of the proposed Chicago-to-Rockford rail service now in limbo.
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WHERE IT’S AT
Lavish expenses
Saturday rally
Mayoral race
Republican U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock billed private trips, concerts / B3
McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim’s hiring choices questioned by rivals / A3
Chicago’s Emanuel aims to avoid runoff in Tuesday’s election / B3
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