THURSDAY
May 14, 2 015 • $ 1 .0 0
RHYTHM AND BREWS FEST
NORTHWEST
HERALD RALD
Woodstock event to benefit Free Guitars for Future Stars / Play 8-9 NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
HIGH
LOW
65 52 Complete forecast on page A8
Facebook.com/NWHerald
@NWHerald
Barbs fly over consolidation bill Measure stays in committee; sponsor accused of deliberately delaying it By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com State Sen. Pam Althoff did not call for a committee vote Wednesday on a government consolidation bill she is being pressured by some of her fellow McHenry County lawmakers to advance. House Bill 229, which seeks to give the McHenry and Lake county boards the power to eliminate certain small units of government, was scheduled
for a Wednesday vote in the Senate Executive Committee. But Althoff, who is being accused of sponsoring the bill with the intent of gutting it or killing it altogether, said Senate President John Cullerton has given the bill an extension to address issues such as making sure employees who are part of collective-bargaining units are safe if their employing government is eliminated. “[Cullerton] had given the bill an extension while several other issues
are being considered by staff,” Althoff said. But state Rep. Jack Franks, the Marengo Democrat who crafted the bill, rejected the explanation, noting that the bill is identical to a 2013 law that has allowed the DuPage County Board to eliminate some public bodies. The bill passed the House last month on a 61-40 vote, and Franks has publicly accused Althoff of grabbing the bill to weaken or stop it,
Related Guest View from Sen. Dan Duffy: Topsyturvy McHenry County representation in Springfield. PAGE B2
after wanting concessions such as language that would forbid the elimination of entities such as the McHenry County Conservation District or the Mental Health Board. Althoff has
filed an amendment to protect those two boards, but the amendment as of Wednesday was still stuck in the Senate Assignments Committee and had not yet been forwarded to Executive. “I’m not sure why she didn’t call the bill [for a Wednesday vote]. My guess is that she didn’t get the amendment she wanted, so she’d rather kill the bill,” Franks said.
See CONSOLIDATION, page A4
Certainty lacking on fix for pensions
IN SEARCH OF WILD FLAVORS
Lawmakers skeptical about deal this spring By SARA BURNETT and KERRY LESTER The Associated Press
Photos by Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Cathy Cagle takes a walk through her backyard May 5 to pick an invasive garlic mustard plant in Crystal Lake. Cagle said there are many uses for the plant, including sauces and pestos, but it has overwhelmed her backyard and she will burn the excess plants she pulls.
Finding dinner in the weeds McHenry County residents forage greens, mushrooms and more Tips for foraging
By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com McHENRY – Alice Howenstine sees dinner in the weeds growing around her home. Howenstine, an 85-year-old McHenry resident, ambles through the patches of leafy greens, yellow flowers and spongy mushrooms in her yard, picking each from the ground along her way. At the end of her expedition, she’ll wash and cook them so she can savor the unintentional produce that sprouted among the grass. “I do it practically every day,” Howenstine said. “That’s not always the plan. When I go out to get the mail or see the animals and I go behind the buildings, I might pick something.” Meals foraged from backyards are hitting tables across McHenry County as foraging season ramps up. The practice, local foragers say, is something anyone can pick up with a little gumption and a detailed field guide. A child of the Great Depression, Howenstine started foraging when she was young and carried on the tradition when she and her husband, Bill Howenstine, started a family. The family still picks stinging nettles
• Always have permission first. It is illegal to forage in some places, while others permit it. Some locations have season-specific restrictions. • Be certain of plant identification. Do not eat anything you cannot positively identify. • Don’t take any more than 10 percent of a plant growth.
Source: Local foragers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Related Cagle walks through her backyard looking for invasive garlic mustard. She is the organizer of a meetup.com group dedicated to foraging mushrooms and herbs. to cook and eat or devours elderberry blossoms slathered and cooked in egg batter. “It was something we both learned from our parents,” Howenstine said. “It was sort of a challenge and fun to do the best with what we had.” In her home on Pioneer Organic
Tree Farm, which she and her husband run, Howenstine pages through about a dozen guidebooks filled with drawings, descriptions and uses for the plants she might encounter on her afternoon romp.
See FORAGING, page A4
Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley: A morning of morel scavenging brings tasty results. PAGE C5
Voice your opinion Have you ever foraged for food? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers expressed skepticism Wednesday that they’ll be able to pass a new pension fix this spring, despite pressure from Gov. Bruce Rauner and major credit rating agencies to quickly replace a 2013 overhaul the state Supreme Court struck down. The court last week ruled the plan to address Illinois’ worst-inthe-nation public-pension shortfall by reducing benefits was unconstitutional, sending lawmakers back to square one on an issue that has dogged them for years. On Wednesday, H o u s e l a w m a k - Sen. John ers held their first Cullerton hearing on the Republican governor’s proposed solution, and Rauner and Senate President John Cullerton met to discuss a separate plan Cullerton Gov. Bruce is floating. But Rep. Elaine Rauner Nekritz, the Democratic chairwoman of the House pension committee, called the odds of a deal before the session ends May 31 “slim.” “You don’t just slap these things together,” said Nekritz, noting that the 2013 deal took years to negotiate. Illinois’ five public-pension systems are short more than $100 billion of what’s needed to pay out benefits as promised, largely because lawmakers for years didn’t make the state’s contributions. The payments now are taking up roughly one-fifth of the state’s general revenue fund, with next year’s payment reaching about $7 billion. Major credit rating agencies already have given Illinois the worst rating of any state in the nation. Moody’s Investors Service this week downgraded to junk bond status the credit rating for the city of Chicago and its public school district, citing the court’s ruling and the city’s own deep
See PENSIONS, page A2
SPORTS
NATION
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Eagles get win
Crash analyzed
State of city
Jacobs stays strong over McHenry, eyes FVC Valley lead / C1
Investigators say Amtrak train in deadly wreck was traveling at 106 mph / B3
Mayor: Woodstock officials prepared to meet challenges / A3
Advice ................................ C6 Buzz.....................................C8 Classified...................... D1-12 Comics ............................... C7 Community ........................B1 Local News.....................A1-6 Lottery................................ A2 Movies................... Play 12-13
Nation&World...................B3 Obituaries ......................A6-7 Opinion...............................B2 Play ............................... Inside Puzzles ............................D6-7 Sports..............................C1-5 Stocks................................. A7 Weather .............................A8