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UNDAY AY, APRIL 20, 2014
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D-47, teachers’ union agree to new contract Includes 3-year agreement, increase to instructors’ salary By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Andrew Bittenbender of Huntley walks his family dog, Gucci, on Saturday along Oak Ridge Road in Marengo. After a roadside bomb in Baghdad in 2007 left him with a back injury, he decided to seek help in dealing with his injury. In November, he joined the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association’s Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies program and participates in free training sessions at a nearby gym.
Reinvigorating vets Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies offers free gym membership to help soldiers get back in shape By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com Ed Peters hadn’t worked this hard since boot camp. That was 1967. Like most veterans, the Lake in the Hills man had fallen out of combat shape as adulthood progressed. Peters, 64, had planned to work on his fitness after he retired, but a program from the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association has encouraged him to get into the gym sooner. The program, called Healthy
“My back is kind of messed up. I thought it’d be a good idea to go there and get someone who’s trained in that profession to help me.” Andrew Bittenbender 28-year-old Army veteran from Huntley
Minds Healthy Bodies, provides veterans who receive at least 10 percent disability benefits with free
gym memberships and 15 hours of personal training. Organizers also put on monthly social events such as paintballing and a chili cook-off. Peters, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam war, receives about 60 percent disability stemming in large part from when he was shot in the jaw – an incident that, not surprisingly, left scarring. Like many veterans, he also has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
See VETERANS, page A9
CRYSTAL LAKE – In a rarely seen practice, leaders from Crystal Lake School District 47 and its teachers’ union released terms of a new deal before it is voted on for final approval at Monday’s board meeting. After one year of negotiations, the sides agreed on a three-year contract that would see teachers receive salary increases in each year but also take on a greater share of insurance costs. Under the terms, teachers would receive a 1.7 percent salary increase retroactive to the beginning of this school year. A 2.3 percent increase would kick in for the coming school year, and a 2.4 percent increase would be implemented in the 201516 school year. The increases come after the teachers’ union locked into a previous contract that helped bring instruction expenses down from $47.1 million in 2011 to $44.6 million in 2013, according to Illinois Report Card and state board of education records. Residents can view contract details at shawurl. com/149f. Those interested should view the Monday agenda and select the CLETA contract approval agenda item. The most recent salary schedule showed ranges from $41,984 to $86,991, depending on advanced degrees and time served in
By the numbers District 47 and its teachers’ union released terms of the new deal before it voted for final approval.
$41,984 to $86,991 salary range for teachers under the new agreement
$54,000 average teacher salary in D-47
1.7 percent increase in teachers’ salary retroactive to the beginning of this school year
2.3 percent increase to teachers’ salary kicks in for the 2014-15 school year
2.4 percent increase to teachers’ salary kicks in for the 2015-16 school year
the district. Teachers would need to earn a B instead of C for horizontal movement on the salary schedule in the new agreement. An average teacher salary in the district is about $54,000. While salaries would increase in the three years, teachers will pick up insurance costs. Once a premium increase exceeds 3 percent, teachers will begin to pick up the difference. Insurance benefits also end when
See CONTRACT, page A9
Quinn: New controls coming after Medicaid paid for dead Review finds estimated $12 million went to people already deceased By JASON KEYSER The Associated Press CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn promised tighter controls Saturday after a review found that the Illinois Medicaid program paid an esti-
mated $12 million for medical services for people who had already died. The Democratic governor told reporters he’s not happy with the findings and the state is on track to get back all of the money.
LOCALLY SPEAKING
“We’ve already recouped a great deal of the money,” Quinn said. “We intend to get every single penny.” Republican lawmakers seized on the mistake as evidence that Illinois’ Democratic leadership has failed to do all it can to clean up the Medicaid rolls and shield the system from abuse. The error emerged during one of the most hotly contested gover-
nor’s races in the nation and could become an issue in the campaign. When asked about the matter Saturday, a spokesman for Quinn’s Republican opponent, wealthy businessman Bruce Rauner, said it warranted further scrutiny and was “another troubling sign pointing towards Pat Quinn’s inability to run state government.”
McHENRY COUNTY
FOUR SCHOOLS EARN NATIONAL HONOR Four area high schools have made the Washington Post’s Most Challenging High Schools in America list for their commitment to preparing students for college. Huntley, CaryGrove, Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake Central high schools made the list of the 2,092 high schools nationwide that met the criteria to be ranked. For more, see page B1.
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
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Complete forecast on A12
“We have to put in even tighter controls. ... The important thing is to recoup every dollar for the taxpayers. We’re doing exactly that.” Pat Quinn
See MEDICAID, page A9
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The Associated Press learned of the mistake from an internal state government memo it obtained Friday through the Freedom of Information Act. The memo said the state auditor compared clients enrolled in the Medicaid database last June with state death records dating back to