NWH-3-11-2014

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Elephants can distinguish voices of ethnic groups, genders

News, A2

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014

WWW.NWHERALD.COM

75 CENTS

Prim supporters targeting Zinke New allegations made against candidate for county sheriff By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com

and CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com Supporters of McHenry County sheriff’s candidate Bill Prim have thrown a one-two electoral punch at opponent Andrew Zinke in the days leading up to the March 18 primary. State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi on Thursday alleged

Illinois’ ‘scarlet letter’ costly

ANALYSIS he has linked what he called libelous comments about him posted on a local blog to Zinke’s campaign manager. A day later, attorney Robert Hanlon filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging Zinke illegally ran the license plates of a woman who served him a summons for a deposition in an 8-year-old defamation

case in which Hanlon is the defendant. But while the acrimonious race between Prim and Zinke for the GOP nod for sheriff is center Bill stage with the Prim recent developments, they have connections to another as well, namely an effort at the

April caucus of the McHenry County Republican Party to replace its officers with new blood. Hanlon filed a lawsuit Friday alleging Andrew that Zinke misZinke used the Law Enforcement Agencies Database System, commonly known as LEADS,

Election Central Follow the local, state and national races at NWHerald. com/election.

after losing his temper with the plaintiff who served him the evening of Jan. 13 with a summons to be deposed. Hanlon describes plaintiff Sondra Matterness in the court filing as “78 years of age with a bad hip” who had to leave the summons at his feet because he would not accept it by hand, and alleges that Zinke “began yelling and screamed

On the Web To read the lawsuit, visit NWHerald.com.

Inside Bill Prim vows not to collect pension if elected. PAGE B1

See ALLEGATIONS, page A4

Hospital project underway Crews cutting through frozen ground at Centegra’s Huntley campus

Bad credit runs taxpayers $80M By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Illinois wears a “scarlet letter” when it borrows money, denoting a woeful fiscal reputation that cost at least $80 million in additional interest charges over a five-year period, a study released Monday found. The University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs compared the state’s sales of general obligation bonds against other states from 2005 to 2010 and found Illinois paid a “risk premium” based solely on buyers’ perception of its credit stability. The credit rating has worsened since then. “Investors in the municipal secondary markets demand a risk premium for Illinois’ general obligation debt that is greater than the financial, economic and fiscal conditions warrant,” the study’s authors wrote, suggesting it’s because investors see Illinois’ debt as “toxic,” despite constitutional guarantees that state debt will be paid. It’s well known that taxpayers pay higher interest rates on money Illinois borrows because it has the worst credit rating of any state, driven by the state’s inability to keep up with obligations to its state pension accounts. The debt in five retirement systems had grown to $100 billion by the time lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn devised a plan last fall to erase that deficit over the next three decades – a plan

See ILLINOIS, page A4

Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

Crew from Power Construction excavate soil Thursday at the site of the new Centegra Hospital in Huntley. Crews had to use special equipment to help thaw the ice and prepare the ground for construction. The 360,000-square-foot hospital is scheduled to open in 2016 and will feature 128 beds, a special care nursery, a chest pain center and cardiology services, a dedicated women’s center and a helipad for transporting patients with the most critical needs.

By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com HUNTLEY – The blustery winter hasn’t deterred Centegra Health System from starting construction on its $233 million Huntley hospital project that has already encountered various obstacles in the past

three years. The ground is frozen with roughly three feet of frost along Centegra’s Huntley campus near Haligus and Algonquin roads. But crews from Schaumburg-based Power Construction have started the 30-month construction process, doing initial site work

and reconfiguring parking around Centegra’s Health Bridge facility. The company even brought ground-thawing equipment to cut through the frost and start digging the foundation of the future five-story, 128-bed hospital, located near the center of the Huntley campus.

“It takes you from planning to reality,” said Susan Milford, senior vice president of strategy and development. “Our team has been with this through the whole process. We are feeling a lot of joy to get to this point.”

See HOSPITAL, page A4

“It takes you from planning to reality. Our team has been with this through the whole process. We are feeling a lot of joy to get to this point.” Susan Milford, Centegra’s senior vice president of strategy and development on start of construction site work

LOCALLY SPEAKING

Randy Stukenberg for Shaw Media

McHENRY COUNTY

FOX RIVER GROVE

WEATHER TO DELAY MANY SPRING GAMES

RESIDENTS OBJECT TO PROPOSED CELL TOWER

Although the spring sports season kicks off March 12, for most teams that doesn’t seem likely. Area athletic directors and coaches are thinking of creative ways to play some games, including playing indoors. Other schools are taking a wait-andsee approach before making decisions about postponing or canceling games. For more, see page C1.

As Fox River Grove trustees consider a proposal for AT&T to build a 140-foot cellphone monopole at the Norge Ski Club, residents who live nearby are objecting to the potential project. AT&T said the project is needed to help accommodate the demand for voice and data service. For more, see page B1.

HUNTLEY: Red Raiders believe this time will be different versus familiar foe Auburn. Sports, C1

WEATHER HIGH

LOW

43 23 Complete forecast on A6

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