THURSDAY
Ma rch 26 , 2 015 • $1 .0 0
40 YEARS OF TOURING
NORTHWEST
L
HERALD RALD
Los Lobos to bring its golden blend of Chicano rock to Crystal Lake
41 21
/ Planit Play 8-9
Complete forecast on page A10
NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
RE-EVALUATING ILLINOIS’ SENTENCING LAWS
HIGH
Facebook.com/NWHerald
LOW
@NWHerald
Domestic battery charges upgraded Huntley man now charged with murder in wife’s death By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
and CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
UNDER
Governor’s commission looking at sentencing laws in hopes of reducing prison population
EVALUATION Story by CHELSEA McDOUGALL • cmcdougall@shawmedia.com Graphic by KRISTINA PETERS • kpeters@shawmedia.com A commission to re-evaluate Illinois’ sentencing laws, and eventually reduce the state’s prison population, is moving forward under Gov. Bruce Rauner. With the new Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform, Rauner has tasked the panel to find ways to reduce the prison population by 25 percent in the next 10 years. It’s a pretty tall order, but as one prison watchdog group put it: “We’d rather it be 50 percent in five years,” said Jennifer Vollen-Katz, interim executive director of the John Howard Association of Illinois, which works to achieve a fair, humane and cost-effective criminal justice system by promoting adult
and juvenile prison reform. Rauner isn’t the first politician to look at criminal justice reform, nor is he likely to be the last. But reforms typically have little chance for becoming law, Vollen-Katz said, because it can be politically unpopular to be anything but “tough on crime.” “People don’t win elections on the issue of criminal justice reform,” Vollen-Katz said. Prison overcrowding has been regarded as an issue upon which those on either side of the political spectrum tend to agree. On the far left, it’s a moral issue; for those on the right, it’s a financial one. See EVALUATION, page A6
STATE
SPORTS
LOCAL
On right track
Holiday Hills case Ill. budget
Huntley girls soccer team has big shoes to fill to start season / C1
Prosecutor asks judge to prohibit Peters from using a wheelchair at trial / A3
Senate on spot to back measure to close $1.6 billion gap / B3
HUNTLEY – A Huntley man was charged Tuesday with murdering his wife days after police responded to the couple’s home for a domestic violence incident. Domestic battery charges against Edward E. Hartgraves, 64, were upgraded to first-degree murder after his wife, 63-year-old Carol S. Hartgraves, died from injuries she sustained in the March 20 attack. Edward Hartgraves remains in custody of the McHenry County Jail in lieu of $5 million bond. He is scheduled to appear Friday before McHenry County Judge Gordon Graham. According to court documents, Edward Hartgraves pushed, strangled and punched Carol multiple times in the face. Her injuries required six stitches to her chin and she had a broken arm, police said. Police said Carol Hartgraves was bleeding from the chin and was disoriented when she spoke with police Friday. Friday was the second time police have been called to the couple’s 10505 Longfield Drive home since they moved there in January. Edward Hartgraves was charged Feb. 22 with violat-
Edward E. Hartgraves, 64, is charged with first-degree murder after his wife, Carol S. Hartgraves, died from injuries she sustained in a March 20 domestic violence incident. ing an active order of protection. That order – out of Cook County – said Edward should not consume alcohol in the presence of Carol. H i s F e b r u a r y m i s d emeanor case still was pending when Edward Hartgraves was arrested and charged March 20 with felony domestic battery stemming from this incident. He posted $6,000 bond and was released the next day. Earlier this month, McHenry County Judge Charles Weech granted a defense motion to modify a condition of Edward’s bond that allowed him to move back into the marital home with Carol on the condition he not consume alcohol. That order was entered on March 6. Two weeks later Carol Hartgraves died at Centegra Hospital – Woodstock. The cause of death was not released by the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.
See CHARGES, page A6
Earthquake hits Lake in the Hills By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com LAKE IN THE HILLS – A 2.9-magnitude earthquake hit Lake in the Hills shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. An earthquake of this magnitude can happen just about anywhere on the earth’s crust, even places that don’t have a history of earthquakes, said Rafael Abreu, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Center in Golden, Colorado. Wednesday’s earthquake was a very minor one with weak to light shaking and that typically results in no damage, the report said. The impact could be felt
in Crystal Lake, Algonquin and Huntley, according to submissions to the U.S. Geological Survey. A November 2013 earthquake hit the Chicago suburbs – that time on the southwest side – following a quarry blast in McCook. No reports of damage or injuries resulted. The city of McHenry was the epicenter of a 2.4-magnitude earthquake in January 2012. One of the largest earthquakes to hit Illinois occurred in April 2008 when a 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit southern Illinois causing minor structural damage. The impact was felt through the Midwest and as far away as Georgia, Nebraska and southern Ontario.
WHERE IT’S AT Advice ................................C8 Buzz...................................C10 Classified...................... D1-10 Comics ............................... C9 Community ........................B1 Local News.................... A2-9 Lottery................................ A2 Movies.................Planit 12-13
Nation&World...................B3 Obituaries ..................... A8-9 Opinion...............................B2 Planit Play ................... Inside Puzzles ........................... D7, 9 Sports............................. C1-6 Stocks.................................A9 Weather ........................... A10