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NWHerald.com
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Census: County population dips Newly released 2014 estimates show fourth straight year of decline Estimates released Thursday place the county’s 2014 population at 307,283, or 1,477 McHenry County’s popula- fewer than its official 2010 tion had a fourth straight year Census figure of 308,760. Put of decline last year, according one way, that dip represents to newly released U.S. Census less than one half of one perBureau figures. cent of the county’s total pop-
By KEVIN P. CRAVER
kcraver@shawmedia.com
ulation. Put another way, the loss is equivalent to every last resident of Hebron and Greenwood packing up and leaving. And put yet another way, McHenry County again was the only collar county to lose population last year. Lake,
Will, DuPage and Kane counties gained residents. Like last year, when estimates showed a decline, local leaders are not yet raising an alarm, but said potential reasons for the decline merit further scrutiny. The 2013
estimate released last year showed a decline of 1,351 residents from the last decennial U.S. Census. Former McHenry County Board chairman and current state Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, said he believes a
number of factors are playing a role, not the least of which is the state’s ongoing out-migration. “There’s the fact that we’re losing manufacturing jobs and
See POPULATION, page A7
Burial program for poor faces cuts
PROGRAMS TO KEEP KIDS ACTIVE
Funeral director expresses concern By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Photos by Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Athena Lynn (left), 9, of Oakwood Hills, floats in the pool with Ariana Fermin, 7, of Crystal Lake during a spring break program Wednesday at the Sage YMCA in Crystal Lake. As summer vacations draw nearer, the YMCA is beginning to take registration for its summer camp and programs. BELOW: Fermin adjusts her goggles.
Readying for camp By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com CARY – This is crunch time for the Cary Park District. In a matter of weeks, registration for the district’s summer camps will open to parents in search of engaging activities for fresh-out-of-school kids. Throughout McHenry County, there are several agencies teeming with summer programming intended to do just that. “From now to June, a lot happens to get all of our fields and park sites ready, and to get all the staff hired,” said Katie Hughes, director of communications and marketing for the Cary Park District.
Agencies highlight summer options
There, kids in kindergarten through eighth-grade can be enrolled in either a five-day or two-day summer camp, which runs for 10 weeks. Between April 13 and May 22, park district residents can register their kids for $99 to $170, depending on age, per one-week session of the five-day camp. Early registration for nonresidents begins April 20. Rates will go up starting May 23. The first week of camp starts June 8 and the final week starts Aug. 10, Hughes said. For more information, visit carypark.com. Other agencies throughout the county offer similar programming.
McHENRY – The state of Illinois plans to cut funding for a program that helps pay for funeral and burial costs for the poor, sparking concern among some funeral home directors about who will have to shoulder those costs. The cut could be devastating, said Mark Justen, owner of Justen Funeral Home and Crematory in McHenry. Justen said he provides about 30 funerals a year to people who are enrolled in public aid programs such as Family Assistance or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Under the current program, the funeral home could claim up to $1,600 for funeral and burial expenses. “We’re going to take it out of our bottom line,” Justen said. “We’re just going to have to donate those services.” The state funded more than 8,600 burials in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, Department of Human Services spokeswoman Jessica Michael said. The state had budgeted nearly $9.5 million for funeral and burial services in the current budget year, and Michaels said officials are trying to figure out a plan for the coming months. The Illinois Funeral Directors Association said the agency was recently told $5 million will be taken from the funeral budget to help fill the $300 million in the state’s child care program. Funeral and burials have been taken out of the financial plan for the coming budget year entirely, Michaels said. If funding does disappear,
See CAMP, page A7 See BURIAL, page A7
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Rauner signs into law compromise plan to plug a $1.6 billion budget hole / B3 LOCAL NEWS
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