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Marengo cruises to 62-48 win over Woodstock in regional title game, earning place in school history / C1
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Court fight over vests continues Attorney argues for return of items seized from motorcycle club members By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A judge wants more time to decide if leather vests with patches should be returned to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, or if they will remain in the cus-
tody of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office. The ongoing legal battle over the vests has offered insight into the world of motorcycle gangs, but has not yet provided an answer on who gets the club paraphernalia. The sheriff’s office seized
the three leather vests after arresting several club members involved in a 2012 bar fight at the Lizard Lounge in Wonder Lake. Attorneys from both sides made legal arguments about whether leather vests with Outlaws patches are contra-
band. Some patches say “1 percent,” a nod to motorcycle criminal activity; “GFOD,” which means God forgives, Outlaws don’t; and “OFFO,” or Outlaws forever, forever Outlaws. A woman’s vest also was seized and reads “Property of
the Outlaws”; such vests are given to members’ “property” or their wives and girlfriends. In his closing argument, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Zalud attacked the notion that the Outlaws are a civic organization. He pointed out the dif-
ference in the patches worn on the vests of the Outlaws, versus those worn by, say, the Boy Scouts of America. “They’re way beyond Webelos in this case,” Zalud said. “This isn’t a good boys club.
See VESTS, page A6
Oil trains continue to burn in Galena Rail cars involved among safer tanks The ASSOCIATED PRESS GALENA – The rail cars that split open and burst into flames during a western Illinois oil train derailment this week had been retrofitted with protective shields to meet a higher safety standard than federal law requires, according to railroad officials. The fire continued to burn Friday, a day after the derailment in a rural area south of the city of Galena. No injuries were reported, but the accident was the latest in a series of failures for the safer tankcar model that has led some people calling for tougher requirements. “It certainly begs that question when ... those standards failed to prevent leakage and explosions that threaten human safety and environmental contamination,” said Steve Barg, director of the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation, which owns a nature preserve several hundred yards from the derailment site. BNSF Railway said the train’s tank cars were a newer model known as the 1232. It was designed during safety upgrades voluntarily adopted by the industry four years ago in hopes of keeping cars from rupturing during derailments. But 1232 standard cars have split open in three other accidents in the past year, including one in West Virginia last month. That train was carrying 3 million gallons of North Dakota crude when it derailed, shooting fireballs into the sky, leaking oil into a waterway and burning down a house. The home’s owner
Michelle LaVigne for Shaw Media
LifeSpring Community Church youth group leader Megan McInnis (far back center) watches as 16-year-old Kasia Ashwill doubles up her string with fellow youth group member 17-year-old Robbie Wendtland (left) as 11-year-old Freddy Haas and 16-year-old Anna MacLean join in to try and find a way to use their strings to move a weight, illustrating that when many spiritual gifts bond together they are strong, like the church family. The lesson was one of the activities held Wednesday during the church’s youth group meeting in Spring Grove. By JEFF ENGELHARDT • jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Spirit
preading the
Area churches find homes in nontraditional spaces
S
teve Erickson has preached in gymnasiums, 100-year-old chapels with no bathrooms and movie theaters. The Meadowland Church pastor’s most recent house of worship? A refurbished barn on 4815 Johnsburg Road. “I really see the building as a tool for the ministry, but the church is not the building. The church is the people that gather together,” Erickson said. “You can be anywhere. It’s a matter of seeing the space as a tool.” See CHURCHES, page A6
See DERAILMENT, page A6
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Daylight Saving Time returns, so don’t forget to spring ahead one hour this Sunday SPORTS
Jobs report released Although the jobless rate in the U.S. has dropped to a seven-year low, it isn’t as encouraging as it might sound / A7
Bears trade Brandon Marshall Columnist Hub Arkush says Marshall’s presence had become more than a distraction / C6
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