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FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014
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County begins Metra rep search Applications sought to fill Schaffer’s seat on board It put out the call Wednesday for applicants interested in representing the county on the Metra Board, which handles suburban rail, and the Pace Board in charge of Chicago-area bus service. The four-year terms for both expire June 30. County Board Chairwoman
By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board has started the process by which it will appoint a successor to Jack Schaffer as the county’s representative on the Metra Board.
Tina Hill, R-Woodstock, said the processes will be open and transparent, similar to the process by which members appointed the county’s new representative to the Regional Transportation Authority Board last year. Candidates will be interviewed in open session by a panel which
will make a recommendation for a full County Board vote. Given the publicity Metra has received in recent years – most of it lousy – Hill anticipates receiving a decent number of resumes.
See METRA, page A9
What it means The McHenry County Board is seeking applicants for people interested in representing the county on the Metra Board for a four-year term to expire June 30, 2017. Application forms are available online at www. co.mchenry.il.us, or at the County Board office, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock. The deadline to receive applications is 2 p.m. May 1. Applications also are being sought for appointment to the Pace Board, but a Pace Board member under state law must be a current or former mayor or village president.
A long walk to fight poverty
Income tax may be key in gov. race Risky move to call for keeping increase By SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Lou Ness of Woodstock walks home Thursday from the Blue Lotus Temple. Ness will be walking from Rockford to Washington, D.C., spending the night in various places along the way, for “Hear Our Cry” – a quest to carry the stories of society’s neediest adults and children to the nation’s capital. “I believe God is calling me to carry this message,” Ness said. She begins her 750-mile trip on April 1, and plans to walk 15 to 20 miles per day with an estimated arrival date in the third week of May. By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com
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OODSTOCK – Lou Ness’ friends got excited one day when they thought up this idea: instead of Lou walking alone, they’d all hop on their bikes and cycle to Washington, D.C. Ness hates walking, so this, of course, was the more appealing option. She’d have been all for it if it didn’t destroy the point – the metaphor behind her impending 750-mile trek, which she’s named “Hear Our Cry.” Ness told them no. This isn’t about her own enjoyment. “People say, ‘Well Lou, how do
Former nonprofit leader plans trek from Rockford to D.C. you think we’re supposed to end poverty?’ ” said the 65-year-old, tucked into a Woodstock coffee shop for what is her first in-depth interview with the Northwest Herald since a public firing from the domestic violence victim nonprofit Turning Point in 2004. “One step at a time.” ••• The journey will start on April Fools’ Day, on foot. Along twisting country roads and congested
thoroughfares and through cities and suburbs and small towns, Ness will just ... walk. She’ll push a cart with clothes and foods. She’ll tow a tent, in case no church is near or willing to house her along her path. A veteran, she’ll check in with several Veterans Affairs stations along the way to receive treatment for her condition, chronic cyclical neutropenia – an ailment that, in a cycle, leaves her deficient of
white blood cells needed to fight infection. The stats, in review: Ness is 65 years old. She plans to walk 15 miles a day for – at minimum – six straight weeks. She has a blood disorder that leaves her vulnerable to infection. Her doctor, she said, jokes that she needs a psychiatric consult. Her friends, too, raised initial concerns. “But they sort of get that I live my life,” she said. ••• Ness has only become more free-spirited since she was let
See WALKING, page A9
“We have to stop talking about people like they’re garbage and start talking about people like they’re human beings.”
CHICAGO – The crux of Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to prevent big budget cuts is making permanent an income tax increase, which he acknowledges isn’t palatable for many Illinoisans. And the move is even riskier in an election year as his Republican challenger, Bruce Rauner, has blasted the idea in hopes of appealing to tax-weary voters. Quinn’s proposal to extend the 2011 tax hike, which is scheduled to roll back in Related January and create a $1.6 Proposal to b i l l i o n r e v e - add 3 percent nue hole, has surcharge on become a focal millionaires’ point of the No- incomes vember contest advances in and comes as Illinois House. Illinois already PAGE A3 is grappling with billions of dollars in unpaid bills, the lowest credit rating nationwide and uncertainty over a plan to deal with pension debt. However, there are signs the trade off – a tax extension to ward off cuts to schools and services – could work in Quinn’s favor. Top Democrats back him, unions like the proposal and the payoff from an ancillary plan tied to property tax refunds could soften the blow just in time. “You need to lay out a specific and concrete and responsible and honest plan. That’s what I did ...,” Quinn said while visiting a Chicago elementary school Thursday, the day after he proposed the
Lou Ness, executive director for Shelter Care, who plans to walk 750 miles to raise awareness of poverty See INCOME TAX, page A9
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McHenry County’s
FOX RIVER GROVE
WOMAN CHARGED WITH ARSON A woman was charged with arson after allegedly setting a fire Wednesday in the rental unit she shared with her boyfriend, according to Fox River Grove police. Firefighters had to rescue Ashlen E. Beckley, 20, of 107 Center St. They say she set the fire after a fight with the boyfriend, who left the house. For
Jacobs’ Kathryn Van Vlierbergen (left), Hononegah’s Madison Dunker
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Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
ALGONQUIN: Jacobs girls soccer team falls to Hononegah, 6-1, in cold, windy season opener. Sports, C1 Herb Franks
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