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NEW METRA CEO LOOKS TO FUTURE
Cellphone pole up for April vote By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com
lature to craft a statute that actually serves the goal of protecting privacy – and that does so without infringing on the rights of citizens to keep public officials honest,” said Gabe Plotkin, a lawyer for Annabel Melongo, a defendant in one of the two cases. Melongo spent nearly two years in jail after being charged for recording a Cook County court official over the phone who she believed wasn’t carrying out her duties properly.
FOX RIVER GROVE – A proposed AT&T cellphone monopole at the Norge Ski Jump took a blow Thursday. During a sometimes emotional meeting, the Village Board voted 4-2 against the plan for a proposed 120-foot cell tower. The board then directed its staff to prepare a written decision with reasons for the denial, which will come back for a vote in April. AT&T wants to build a 120-foot cellphone monopole at the Norge News Ski Jump Club. sent to AT&T announced at the meeting the your tower request was phone reduced from 140 feet. Text the Village orkeyword dinance allows NWHFOXRIVfor cell towers ERGROVE to to be built up to 100 feet tall on 74574 to sign b u s i n e s s - z o n e d up for FOX lots. Norge is in a RIVER GROVE business-zoned lot, news text but because AT&T alerts from wants to go past the Northwest the village height Herald. Meslimits, the plan sage and data needs a variance rates apply. approved by the village. After Thursday’s vote, Andrew Flowers, who is a real estate and construction manager for AT&T, said there are a lot of options open to the phone service provider. “We’ll wait for the board to make their final decision, and AT&T would make the final decision after that,” Flowers said. The club already has antennas on its 173-foot-tall ski jump, but AT&T representatives and their consultants from National Wireless said the jump can’t take on the weight of additional antennas. Village President Bob Nunamaker said aesthetics could not play a role in the board’s decision. Trustees Michael Schiestel and Andrew Migdal voted in favor of allowing the tower to move forward.
See EAVESDROPPING, page A9
See CELL TOWER, page A9
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Metra CEO Dan Orseno speaks about the commuter rail agency during a lunch event open to the public Thursday at the Fox River Grove Village Hall. Orseno, who was appointed at the end of January to replace ousted CEO Alex Clifford, said the agency has infrastructure needs that total $9.9 billion.
Infrastructure needs, regaining trust are priorities By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com FOX RIVER GROVE – New Metra CEO Don Orseno stressed a need for cash and a new communication plan to gain back customer trust at a lunch event Thursday. Orseno, who was appointed at the end of January to replace ousted CEO Alex Clifford, said the agency has infrastructure needs that total $9.9 billion. He spoke to a small gathering at the Fox River Grove Village Hall at an event
hosted by the Cary Grove Area Chamber of Commerce. A winter heavy on subzero temperatures and snowfall combined to give Metra one of its most challenging seasons ever. Ice- and snow-jammed switches, as well as regulations on the hours rail employees can work, were the culprit for many weather-related delays, Orseno said. The winter also affected an aging fleet of train cars. “The situations we had on January 6 and 7 we could have on June 6 and 7,” said Orseno, who
served as interim chief before being unanimously appointed. “We’re on the ragged edge of the equipment. It has passed its useful life.” Metra owns 380 railcars that are between 30 and 60 years old, Orseno said. Orseno said the agency is expecting to receive just 20 percent of the $9.9 billion figure in the next 10 years and urged people to think in terms of the next 50 years. He added that rebuilding trust of customers, legislators and con-
stituents will go a long way toward presenting funding opportunities for future projects. Rebuilding trust could be a long road, as faulty service during a hard winter is just the latest of Metra’s woes. Lawmakers expressed outrage last year after Clifford was paid a $718,000 severance deal. The former CEO, it came out, alleged he was being forced out because he wouldn’t keep quiet about political patronage requests.
See METRA, page A9
Court deals Illinois eavesdropping law final blow Judges deem statute too broad; state must revise privacy rules By MICHAEL TARM The Associated Press CHICAGO – Illinois’ Supreme Court declared one of the nation’s toughest eavesdropping laws unconstitutional, saying Thursday that
the statute was so overly broad that it would technically make the recording of screaming fans at a football game a crime. The ruling is a final and decisive defeat for the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, which had made it a felony for someone to record conversations unless all parties involved agreed. The 1961 law violates free speech and due process protections, and is way too broad in scope, the court decided in unanimous decisions in two related cases focused on audio recordings.
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More state news • Gubernatorial primary winner Rauner gains support from Democrats. PAGE A3 • Some inmates convicted for life as juveniles could leave prison. PAGE A4
State legislators will now have to draft new rules in a very different privacy environment than existed five decades ago. “The burden is now on the legis-
McHenry County’s
McHENRY COUNTY
HOME SALES FALL, BUT PRICES RISE Home sales in McHenry County fell 22 percent in February as inventory continued to decline amid a difficult winter. According to figures released Thursday, home sales declined to 237, down from 304 during February 2013. The median sales price in the county was up 5.5 percent to $145,000, compared with $137,500 in February 2013. For more, see page E1.
Annaliese Harper Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
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