FRIDAY
Apr il 3, 2015 • $ 1.0 0
‘GREAT FIELDING’
NORTHWEST
H
Crystal Lake South turns in efficient performance to top Crystal Lake Central / C1
HERALD THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
NWHerald.com
McHENRY COUNTY POLICE PENSION FUNDING
2008 2013
60
50
TACKLING THE RISING COSTS
74.56
* Data for Fox River Grove labeled 2013 is for 2014, because data for 2013 is unavailable.
67.10 66.00 62.13 59.01
Man asked judge to reduce his sentence By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
ity’s 2015 update on the state’s police and fire pensions. (Seventeen McHenry County municipalities have police pensions.) A state law passed in 2010 requires local governments to have 90 percent of their pension obligations funded by 2040. The real issue, Crystal Lake Finance Director George Koczwara said, is whether the city can meet 100 percent of its obligations. “A common analogy to pension funding levels are mortgages,” he said. “Just like most people do not pay off a mortgage in a single year ... pension funding is a multi-decade process as well.” The city of Crystal Lake was 57 percent funded in 2013, according to Department of Insurance calculations. (Municipalities have their own internal funding ratios calculated by independent actuaries.) But as far Koczwara knows, the city always has funded pensions at the level recommended
WOODSTOCK – A McHenry County judge rejected a defense request to reduce a sentence for Shane Lamb – one that his defense attorney called “excessive.” Last month, Judge Sharon Prather sentenced Lamb to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of stolen firearms. With credit for time served, Lamb could be released in about nine years. According to authorities, Lamb stole a safe containing 12 weapons, precious metals and other memorabilia from his friend John Farenzena’s McHenry condo in April 2014. Three guns were recovered, and at least one was used in the commission of an armed robbery, prosecutors said. Lamb’s defense attorney, Paul DeLuca, on Wednesday argued the judge shouldn’t have Shane Lamb put much weight into Farenzena’s victim impact statement. According to DeLuca, Farenzena sent an email to a pawn shop owner threatening the owner with violence if he didn’t return the stolen materials. Farenzena admitted writing the owner, but said the message was not a threat. But Prather said the most aggravating element was the defendant himself. “The primary factor in Shane Lamb’s case is Shane Lamb,” Prather said. “Shane Lamb and his extensive and serious criminal history.” Lamb is a repeat felon, with prior drug and battery convictions. He also was incarcerated as a juvenile for attempted murder. Lamb was not the shooter in that instance. Lamb also is at the center of controversy surrounding the 2002 disappearance of Johnsburg teen Brian Carrick. Lamb twice testified under an immunity agreement with prosecutors that
See PENSION, page A6
See LAMB, page A6
36.40
Graphic by R. Scott Helmchen – shelmchen@shawmedia.com
32.41
LAKE IN THE HILLS
FOX LAKE
HARVARD
2008 N/A
SPRING GROVE
LAKEMOOR
PERCENTAGE FUNDED
10
FOX RIVER GROVE
29.68
16.00*
COMMUNITIES WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGES FUNDED
COMMUNITIES WITH THE LOWEST PERCENTAGES FUNDED
McHenry County towns seek ways to cover pension obligations By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com A sizable chunk – nearly 14 percent – of Fox River Grove’s general fund budget is set to go to police pensions this year. But the Village Board has decided to pay about $1.2 million instead of the $341,000 the village-hired actuary says is needed in order to meet its pension obligations, Village Administrator Derek Soderholm said. The goal is to get the pension fund over $2.5 million, the threshold for investing in more lucrative and riskier funds, so the village’s annual pension payments don’t climb as quickly. Fox River Grove isn’t the only village looking for new ways to get its pension costs under control. Voters in Spring Grove will decide Tuesday whether to raise their property taxes by a collective $338,000 to cover pension costs. The village took the issue to the voters after pension pay-
@NWHerald
Lamb’s request rejected
79.00
40
20
45 31
Facebook.com/NWHerald
49.88
30
LOW
Complete forecast on page A8
80
70
HIGH
“A common analogy to pension funding levels are mortgages. Just like most people do not pay off a mortgage in a single year ... pension funding is a multi-decade process as well.” George Koczwara Crystal Lake finance director
ments were estimated to climb 204 percent from 2011 to 2016. The two villages are among the eight McHenry County municipalities that have seen the funding ratio – the percentage of pension liability the village could pay for that day – decline from 2008 to 2013, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountabil-
Nuke deal: World powers, Iran seal breakthrough framework The ASSOCIATED PRESS LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Capping exhausting and contentious talks, Iran and world powers sealed a breakthrough agreement Thursday outlining limits on Iran’s nuclear program to keep it from being able to produce atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic was promised an end to years of crippling economic sanctions, but only if negotiators
transform the plan into a comprehensive pact. They will try to do that in the next three months. The United States and Iran, longtime adversaries who hashed out much of the agreement, each hailed the efforts of their diplomats over days of sleepless nights in Switzerland. Speaking at the White House, President Barack Obama called it a “good deal” that would address
NATION Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called it a “win-win outcome.” Those involved have spent 18 months in broader negotiations that were extended twice since an interim accord was reached shortly after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani entered office. That deal itself was the product of more than a year of secret negotiations between the
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Smith: Remark misconstrued
Advice ..................................C8 Buzz.................................... C10 Classified..........................E1-6 Comics .................................C9 Community ......................... B1 Local News.......................A2-7 Lottery..................................A2 Movies................................. C7 Nation&World.................... B3 Obituaries ...........................A7 Opinions ............................. B2 Puzzles .............................E4, 6 Sports............................... C1-6 State .................................... B3 Stocks...................................A7 Weather ...............................A8 Wheels ............................. D1-6
Lakewood village president says proposed sports complex not dead / A3 SPORTS
Law revisions approved Arkansas, Indiana lawmakers passed legislation they hoped would quiet uproar over new religious objections laws / B3
Obama administration and Iran, a country the U.S. still considers the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Opponents of the emerging accord, including Israel and Republican leaders in Congress, reacted with skepticism. They criticized the outline for failing to do enough to curb Iran’s potential to produce nuclear weapons or to mandate intrusive enough inspections. Obama
disagreed. “This framework would cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon,” he declared. “This deal is not based on trust. It’s based on unprecedented verification.” If implemented, the understandings reached Thursday would mark the first time in more than a decade
See DEAL, page A6
11am - 8pm Prime Rib Honey Glazed Baked Virginia Ham Roast Leg of Lamb Fresh Fish Easter Punch, Mimosas, Bloody Marys “Great place to be!”
Postseason berth Blackhawks clinch playoff spot with 3-1 victory over Canucks / C4
McHENRY • Rt. 120
815-385-0900
www.thevillagesquire.com
CRYSTAL LAKE • Rt. 14
815-455-4130