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Taste, D1
McHenry County jobless rate falls to 8.8 percent from 9.7 percent in Feb. ’13 Business, E1
Leader of RTA talks of reform
SAVING A LOCAL LANDMARK
Camp Algonquin makes historical endangered list
Addresses County Board a day after release of report On the Net
By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Courtesy of McHenry County Conservation District
Camp Algonquin, located near Route 31 and Cary Road in unincorporated McHenry County, is on the Landmarks Illinois list of the most endangered historical places in Illinois. The 116-acre camp was closed in 2011 and is one of four camps built during the “Fresh Air in the Country” movement started during the late 1800s.
WOODSTOCK – The interim head of the Regional Transportation Authority said the agency “stands ready to work with Springfield” in the wake of a task force’s scathing report on the state of Chicago-area mass transit. Acting Executive Director Leanne Redden made the comments during a presentation at a County Board meeting Tuesday, the day after the release of the report by a task force convened last year by Gov. Pat Quinn. Among the recommendations in the 95-page report by the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task Force is that the service boards of Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority be
You can read the final report of the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task Force at www.dot. il.gov/nepublictransit.html. merged into one entity. The RTA, the umbrella board that has financial oversight of the others, should be eliminated altogether, according to the task force. “The northeastern Illinois region will not have a transit system that is anywhere close to world class by clinging to the status quo,” the report concludes. “If too many are preoccupied with defending the turf of multiple boards and a wasteful and often dysfunctional
See RTA, page A6
Designation could help rejuvenate campsite GM chief grilled By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com ALGONQUIN – An Illinois preservation group’s decision Tuesday to make Camp Algonquin one of the most endangered historical places in the state could eventually help lead a revival of the century-old Fox River destination. Many of the camp’s 47 buildings, including dorms and recreational facilities that date to the early 1900s, have fallen into disrepair in the years since the camp closed in 2011. The camp’s owner, the McHenry County Conservation District, has slated many buildings for demolition. Landmarks Illinois noted the camp’s declining state in its annual list, released Tuesday, of the most endangered historical places. The preservation group has released the list for the last 19 years to try and call attention to historical properties in dire conditions. By making the list, the camp could be eligible for new grant opportunities or could open up avenues for private donations, McHenry County Conservation District Executive Director Elizabeth Kessler said. “It’s pretty exciting,” she said. “It definitely communicates and draws attention to the fact that the facilities are deteriorating. ... It draws attention that we need community support.” A bill sponsored by state Sens. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry, and Karen McCon-
News to your phone Text the keyword NWHALGONQUIN to 74574 to sign up for ALGONQUIN news text alerts from the Northwest Herald. Message and data rates apply.
naughay, R-St. Charles, also would raise the conservation district’s maximum tax rate to cover the maintenance of historical buildings. Representatives from Landmark could also survey the campsite and help determine the costs of certain improvements, said Kurt Begalka, the administrator for the McHenry County Historical Society. Dating back to the 1880s, people throughout the Chicago area would travel to the 116-acre Camp Algonquin for a recreational escape. By 1907, the original 20 acres of the camp became a destination for city dwellers seeking a break from urban life. Located near Route 31 and Cary Road in unincorporated McHenry County, the camp sits on hilly, wooded land that once belonged to the Gillian family, regarded as the first white settlers in the county. It also has had a variety of notable owners. The Chicago Tribune helped establish the original 20 acres and built dorms in the early 1900s that still exist today, Begalka said. The Chicago Relief and Aid Society
LOCALLY SPEAKING
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
later would help expand the camp’s services and recreational programs. By the 2000s, it became a popular retreat destination for area school groups, businesses, organizations and churches. The former YMCA of McHenry County managed the property from 2004 until 2011, when the group filed for bankruptcy partly because of two lawsuits from drowning deaths at the camp in 2008. The financial trouble forced the former YMCA to close Camp Algonquin and break its lease agreement with the conservation district. District officials have since been doing basic maintenance on the camp, while figuring out ways to reopen it. Officials last year revealed a master plan that would transform the camp and the nearby Fox Bluff Conservation Area with modern recreational amenities. It also included plans to demolish all but one of the historical properties that populate the camp. But public outreach – including from the county’s historical society – led to a change of heart for some of the district’s trustees, and staff has been directed to look into saving three more buildings, including a Tribune dorm, a cabin and a late 1800s dairy barn. “There is a lot of history surrounding the camp and with time, it’s just being ravaged,” Begalka said. “There’s nothing quite like this in the county ... It’s a jewel that nobody knows about.”
on faulty switch
13 traffic deaths tied to 57-cent part By DEE–ANN DURBIN and TOM KRISHER The Associated Press WASHINGTON – The fix for a faulty ignition switch linked to 13 traffic deaths would have cost just 57 cents, members of Congress said Tuesday as they demanded answers from General Motors’ new CEO on why the automaker took 10 years to recall cars with the defect. At a hearing on Capitol Hill before a House subcommittee, GM’s Mary Barra acknowledged under often testy questioning that the company took too long to act. She promised changes at GM that would prevent such a lapse from happening again. “If there’s a safety issue, we’re going to make the right change and accept that,” said Barra, who became CEO in January and almost immediately found herself thrust into one of the
McHENRY COUNTY
WOODSTOCK
BILL WOULD GIVE ILL. SPEEDERS A BREAK
PRIMARY VOTES TO BE CERTIFIED THIS WEEK
A growing group of circuit clerks, law enforcement officials and attorneys are pushing for a bill making its way through the Legislature that would eliminate a driver’s license as a bond option for those charged with minor traffic offenses and instead allow them to sign the ticket, promising to comply with the terms of the citation. For more, see page B1.
The votes from the March 18 primary election should be certified later this week, the county clerk confirmed. After late absentee ballots were counted, there are 97 votes that separate McHenry County Undersheriff Andrew Zinke and the projected winner of the Republican sheriff’s primary, Bill Prim. For more, see page B1.
HARVARD: R-B’s Rachel Hayden’s pitching slows Harvard, lets Rockets rally in 14-10 win. Sports, C1
AP photo
General Motors CEO Mary Barra pauses as she testifies Tuesday on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. biggest product safety crises Detroit has ever seen. But as relatives of the crash victims looked on intently, she admitted that she didn’t know why it took years for the dangerous defect to be announced. And she deflected many questions about what went wrong, saying an internal investigation is under way. Since February, GM has
See GM, page A6
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