IN TODAY’S PL@Y
WOODSTOCK HONORS ORSON WELLES PLUS ...
THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2014 • NWHERALD.COM • 75¢
• Woodstock Theater shows four Welles classics • Audience gets evening with Groucho Marx • Film reviews: “Godzilla” and “The Immigrant”
AFTER THE DRAFT Bears veterans feeling pressure from younger teammates
Jury finds man guilty of arson
CAN MADIGAN MARSHAL VOTE FOR TAX HIKE?
Faces 6 to 30 years for torching house in Pistakee Highlands By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – McHenry County jurors deliberated for five hours Wednesday before finding Joseph Ziegler guilty of five counts of arson. The 24-yearold faces between six and 30 years in prison after being convicted of setting a fire that destroyed two cars Joseph and severely dam- Ziegler aged a home. He will be sentenced July 2. Prosecutors said Ziegler, in a revenge-fueled rage, intended to torch the home belonging to Nick Pennington because he believed Pennington stole drugs from him. But Ziegler missed his mark, instead setting fire to an SUV parked in the driveway of Rose-
anne Aitken as she and her dog slept. The prosecution’s theory was that Ziegler mistook Aitken’s dark-colored SUV for one that Pennington was seen in earlier that night. Aitken lived two doors away from Pennington. “In his misguided quest for revenge against Nick Pennington, he simply went to the wrong house,” Assistant State’s Attorney Dave Johnston said Wednesday during his closing argument. “Teach him the lesson he didn’t grow up learning,” Johnson told jurors just before they went to deliberate. “When you play with fire, you get burned.” The fire on Aug. 8, 2012, spread to a second car and ultimately crawled up Aitken’s Pistakee Highlands home. No one was injured.
House Speaker needs 60 votes to make ‘temporary’ increase permanent By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
AP file photo
House Speaker Michael Madigan listens to lawmakers’ complaints June 29, 2004, about being kept in session with nothing to vote on while at the speaker’s podium at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
See ARSON, page A4
Franks wants state lottery group fired
MICHAEL MADIGAN’S NUMBERS PROBLEM
Says operator has cost Ill. taxpayers millions of dollars
71 60
By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com
AND JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – State Rep. Jack Franks called on Gov. Pat Quinn to fire the state lottery operator after it has failed to reach contractually stipulated goals the first three years of the contract. The Marengo Democrat held a news conference in Springfield on Wednesday to pressure the governor to end the agreement with Northstar Lottery Group, the private company Quinn chose to head the state lottery program. Franks says the lottery operator is costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars in management fees while underperforming
State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, wants Gov. Pat Quinn to end the agreement with Northstar Lottery Group – costing hundreds of millions of dollars more. Franks also told the Northwest Herald the contract was “almost preordained” to Northstar. “This was his baby, 100 percent,” Franks said. “Now it’s a question of the governor’s inability to govern that he allows this to go on rather than siding with the taxpayers.” Franks’ presentation Wednesday showed Northstar is expected to miss its promised profit target by more than $400 million in the first three years of the deal. In the first year of the contract, Northstar fell short $68 million on its $822.8 million net income target. The company was
House Speaker has several hurdles to face in order to pass an extension to the temporary tax hike Democrats in the House of Representatives
How Democrats voted
Votes Madigan needs in the House to get the tax increase through
2011
19
Democrats on record opposing the tax increase, or favoring it expiring as scheduled
52
House Democrats remaining, eight short of what’s needed to pass the extension
for the tax
against the tax
– 60 – 11 2014 projection
0
– 52
Republicans who voted for the tax increase in 2011
– 19
On the Web
More inside
For an online infographic of Madigan’s efforts to gather votes to extend the 2011 temporary tax hike, visit NWHerald.com.
Madigan rallies support to pass 2015 state budget, but faces opposition from other Democratic leaders. For more, see page A3
On paper, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan has a problem marshaling enough votes to break a promise to taxpayers, even if his title is frequently preceded in print by the word “powerful.” An upcoming House vote on a 2015 state budget that counts on the “temporary” 67 percent income tax increase becoming permanent could be a way for Madigan to test where his fellow Democrats stand. But to get the 60 votes needed to make the tax hike permanent before the end of session May 31, Madigan has to convince a number of Democrats to renege on a promise they have publicly vowed to keep – that the historic tax hike will significantly sunset at year’s end. The Democratic Party holds a 71seat House supermajority, which means Madigan has an 11-vote cushion, given the safe bet that none of the Republican minority will vote in favor. But at least 19 House Democrats are on record as opposing the tax increase to begin with, or favoring allowing it to expire as scheduled. That means Madigan will need at least eight of them to change their publicly-made stances and raise taxes with an election six months away. And that assumes that all 52 of the remaining House Democrats are on board with the plan. Opinions are split regarding Madigan’s odds. As one of the most vocal Democratic opponents of the tax increase, local Rep. Jack Franks said he believes tax hike supporters will fall short given what he’s seen and heard on the House floor. “I’ve been actively lobbying my colleagues to vote no, and I’ve been working this very hard,” Franks, D-Marengo, said. “I don’t believe they have the votes.” But John Jackson, visiting professor at the Paul Simon Public Policy
See LOTTERY, page A4
LOCALLY SPEAKING
Woodstock North’s Dakota Butler Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Sports, C1
See TAX HIKE, page A4
CARY
CARPENTERSVILLE
CARY OFFICIALS WANT PLEDGE FROM JEWEL
DISTRICT 300 NAMES NEXT SUPERINTENDENT
Cary staff this week spoke with Jewel-Osco officials about their location at Cary Square, which is about three miles from the location Jewel plans to open in Fox River Grove. Village officials said Jewel has an option – which it needs to make a decision on by September – on whether to extend its stay an additional five years. For more, see page B1.
Fred Heid, the chief academic officer for Duval County Public Schools, will soon make the move from Florida to Carpentersville to replace outgoing District 300 Superintendent Michael Bregy. The board and Heid have agreed to a three-year contract with an annual salary of $210,000. For more, see page B1.
WOODSTOCK: Woodstock North tops Woodstock, 14-5, for first FVC Fox victory of season. Sports, C1
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