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A p ri l 15 , 2015 • $1 .0 0
DRESS UP YOUR SALAD
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Gussy up your greens by breaking it down and jarring it up / D1
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NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
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Homes damaged by controlled burn in CL
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Teacher charged in sting resigns Man had spent more than 20 years at D-155 By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
Photos by Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
A controlled burn Tuesday on wetlands in the Harvest Run subdivision in Crystal Lake gets out of control. Residents complained of damage to their homes, including melted siding.
Firefighters called after flames began to melt siding By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Mike Staples realized the blaze burning in the wetlands behind his house was too close when he saw a piece of siding fall onto his deck. Staples, who lives in the 1000 block of Wheatland Drive in the Harvest Run subdivision in Crystal Lake, was one of several homeowners whose homes were damaged by what was supposed to be a controlled burn Tuesday. “I think when the wind kicked up a little bit, just all the heat from the flames just started hitting the backs of the houses and melting the
siding,” Staples said. Crystal Lake Fire Rescue responded at 1:04 p.m. to the scene and later determined the fire melted and damaged the siding to eight residences along Wheatland Drive in Crystal Lake. Authorities closed Huntley Road, between Plum Tree Drive and Barlina Road, for almost three hours. Firefighters extinguished the fire and prevented additional damage, a Crystal Lake Fire Rescue news release said. No one was injured in the incident. Residents in the neighborhood
See DAMAGES, page A4
The siding bubbles off a house affected by a controlled burn. Eight residences were damaged, a Crystal Lake Fire Rescue news release said.
On the Web n To view interviews with subdivision residents as well as to see photos from the controlled burn in the Harvest Run subdivision, visit NWHerald.com.
CRYSTAL LAKE – A Crystal Lake South High School teacher has resigned two months after he was charged with soliciting sex during a prostitution sting in Rockford, a school official said. Brian Akers, 46, of Woodstock was charged in mid-February with solicitation of a sexual act by Rockford police who executed a “reverse” prostitution sting that resulted in the arrest of eight men. Akers had been on paid a d m i n i s t r a - Brian Akers tive leave un- Crystal Lake til the Com- South High munity High School teacher S c h o o l D i s - has resigned trict 155 Board accepted his resignation Thursday evening, district spokeswoman Katie Sheridan said. The resignation is effective immediately, and Akers will receive no additional pay, she said. He will continue to receive his health insurance benefits through June 30. Akers spent more than 20 years at District 155 and was making a salary of more than $110,000, according to recent salary reports. He taught Advanced Placement biology and was a longtime wrestling coach for the Crystal Lake South Gators, but he is no longer coaching. Akers had no other extracurricular roles at the school. At the time of Akers’ arrest, the district stressed that no students or faculty other than Akers were involved or harmed and that the alleged incident took place off campus and not during school hours. His case still is pending before the Winnebago County Court with a status hearing scheduled for June 29.
Illinois lawmakers: Rauner must offer pension plan soon By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner had better put his pension-plan cards on the table if he wants lawmakers to deal him a hand which includes budget-sparing retirement-benefit reductions, two pension experts in the Illinois General Assembly said Tuesday. Democrats who authored a 2013 public pension overhaul – currently undergoing a Supreme Court challenge – want the Republican governor to
lay out the specific numbers he’s using in trumpeting a measure he contends could slash the state pension contribution by $2.2 billion in the budget year that begins July 1. But Rep. Elaine Nekritz and Sen. Daniel Biss said time is running out in the Daniel Biss spring session scheduled to end May 31. And even if it met quick lawmaker and court
approval, Biss said counting on savings that quickly is “an absolute fantasy.” And Nekritz and Biss want to know if the Rauner initiative would even comply with Social Security rules. Each filed resolutions asking the agencies handling Elaine Nekritz employee pension investment portfolios to seek IRS guidance. “The road to pension hell
is paved with rash actions,” Biss, an Evanston Democrat, told a state Capitol news conference. In his February budget address, Rauner proposed moving all state workers to a less-generous plan that lawmakers approved for people hired after Bruce Rauner 2011. Others could choose to join a 401(k)-style account like many in private business.
“The governor’s plan enacts true pension reform for the financial future of Illinois,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. Staff members to Biss and Nekritz “received the governor’s proposal weeks ago to review and the administration believes there is ample time to review and pass the governor’s pension plan.” The five state pension accounts are $111 billion short of what they need to provide benefits to all retirees and employees. The amount the state has to contribute to
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catch up is nearly $7 billion a year, sucking money from education and social services. The state’s high court just last month began considering the constitutionality of the 2013 law, which took years to get approved, and the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment is May 31. Nekritz said analyzing pension-plan change requires as long as three weeks for investment agencies such as the Teachers Retirement System to determine monetary
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