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Febru ar y 6 , 2015 • $ 1 .0 0
ON A MISSION Cary-Grove looking beyond win against McHenry / C1
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31 27 Complete forecast on page A10
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Huntley trustees OK $4M loan Clear way for downtown utility, sewer work to begin by late March By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com HUNTLEY – Trustees on Thursday supported $4 million in new debt that will pay for the upcoming construction included in the village’s makeover plans for downtown Huntley. Officials expect initial downtown work that buries overhead utility lines and up-
grades water and sewer lines to begin by late March. To ensure construction can start, village administrators recently secured a $4 million loan from American Community Bank and Trust. The village would pay back the loan – and its 2.6 percent interest rate – in monthly installments during the next 15 years. Trustees supported the finance plan without discus-
Chicago man faces burglary charges
sion Thursday. “We hit the market at the right time,” said Village Manager Dave Johnson. “We continued to Dave Johnson see historic lows in the lending market, and we believe it’s a good number.” Village officials included
the multimillion-dollar improvements in this year’s capital budget nearly five years after they began planning the downtown makeover. The $4 million in construction work covers the utility and sewer upgrades and adds downtown parking, benches, planters, landscape and street lighting. It also would refurbish streets, and widen and level sidewalks throughout
the downtown area. The tax increment financing district Village Board members created in 2013 for the downtown overhaul hasn’t yet produced enough revenue to cover the new debt. The TIF district takes property tax revenue increases over a base amount and puts it toward the village’s downtown redevelopment effort. As village officials wait for
the TIF to produce, they plan to use telecommunications tax and water/sewer fund revenue to pay back the new debt. Officials can use both revenue sources in the short term primarily because Huntley is set to pay off debt on the full-access Interstate 90 interchange later this spring, along with debt on a public works facility next year, according to village documents.
McHENRY COUNTY SCHOOLS ADD ETHNIC STUDIES CLASSES
Academic achievement
Allegedly took donated Christmas gifts from Woodstock apartment By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A 28-yearold Chicago resident was charged with burglary Wednesday after Christmas presents for children, donated by the Christmas Clearing House, were stolen from a Woodstock apartment, police said. Tyrone Spikes, of 4150 S. Wentworth Ave., Chicago, was charged with residential burglary, a Class 1 felony; theft of less than $300; and an additional charge of criminal trespass to propTyrone Spikes erty, a Class A misdemeanor, according to a police news release. The arrest comes after the Woodstock Police Department responded Jan. 4 to an apartment on the 1200 block of Walden Oaks Drive for a delayed report of a residential burglary, the release said. The burglary is believed to have taken place between Christmas Eve and Dec. 30, while the victim was away from the targeted apartment. Among the numerous items discovered stolen – electronics and clothing – were Christmas gifts intended for children who reside in the apartment. According to police, the gifts were donated
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Elizabeth Gonzalez (center) instructs students such as sophomore Stephanie Nunez (right) during a Vistas Del Mundo II class Wednesday at Woodstock High School. A study conducted by the University of Arizona found that ethnic studies courses increased students’ chances of passing the state reading test by 9 percent.
Study: Ethnic studies courses boost likelihood of meeting state standards mundo,” a short story written by a Colombian novelist. The piece will introduce the WOODSTOCK – The class start- fantasía, or fantasy, unit of Vistas ed – like a lot of high school courses Del Mundo I and II, courses aimed do – with a journal question. at Woodstock Consolidated Unit Students were asked to spend a School District 200 freshmen and few minutes jotting down the set- sophomores in the dual language ting, characters and problems laid program. out in “El ahogado más hermoso del But the mixture of units aimed at
By EMILY K. COLEMAN
ecoleman@shawmedia.com
different literary genres and social issues might be doing more than just improving students’ Spanish. A study conducted by the University of Arizona found that ethnic studies courses – which can include Vistas Del Mundo and the Estudios Chicanos, or Mexican-American studies, class District 200 might offer to seniors next year – increased
students’ chances of graduating and passing the state’s standardized tests. The reason for the bump might be that the students in the classes – who are more likely to be Spanish-speaking or of Hispanic descent when compared to the rest of the district
See CLASSES, page A8
See BURGLARY, page A8
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Write-in candidates file for Crystal Lake mayor and Cary trustee races / A3 SPORTS
State regulations Rauner issued medical marijuana licenses before out-of-state criminal background checks could be done via FBI database / B5
1,000-point milestone Despite falling to Sycamore, CL South’s Chanel Fanter savors memorable night / C1
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