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NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
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Taxpayer group ranks pensioners Figures for annual benefits accurate, but estimates off for lifetime payouts By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com McHenry County’s top-earning government retirees found themselves again in the sights of an antitax group bringing attention to the need for tax and pension reform. But those sights are undergoing adjustments after the Northwest Herald discovered Taxpayers United of
America had inaccurately calculated the lifetime maximum pension many of them are eligible to collect. While it’s far from the first time the group has published a list of what it calls “pension millionaires,” its review of the county comes just after the Illinois Supreme Court declared a 2013 attempt at pension reform blatantly unconstitutional. The group Tuesday released lists
of top pensioners for McHenry County teachers and McHenry County College, county government employees, and retired municipal employees of Crystal Lake and McHenry. While the group’s annual pensions were accurate, its estimates for lifetime payouts for city and county workers – assuming a lifespan of 85 years – incorrectly used the 3 percent compound-interest formula for the
five state-run systems. County and municipal employees are under the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, which calculates annual increases with simple interest. Taxpayers United concluded that more than 1,000 retirees of McHenry County units of government receive six-figure pensions, or a substantial chunk of the more than 12,000 retired government employees statewide
Lawsuit alleges marijuana monopoly
whom group President Jim Tobin says are pulling down $100,000 or more in retirement. “While taxpayers struggle to make their property tax payments, working well beyond retirement age, these government pensioners enjoy lavish, gold-plated retirements beginning on average at the age of 58,” Tobin
See PENSIONS, page A7
FOOD SAFETY RATINGS
Says Colo. man has controlling interest in Ill. grow centers
SERVING UP
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
INSPECTIONS
The Associated Press CHICAGO – A colorful Denver businessman and unsuccessful city council candidate schemed to monopolize the new medical marijuana industry in Illinois, according to a lawsuit that has joined a parade of legal challenges from competing marijuana business applicants in the state. Medponics Illinois filed the lawsuit Monday in Lake County. It claims Kayvan Khalatbari and his Denver companies have controlling interests in at least three Illinois cultivation centers. If true, that would violate Illinois regulations. Kayvan But some industry insiders say Khalatbari Khalatbari has played by the rules and, while he’s an owner in one Illinois company, he’s merely a contract consultant for another – a much lower level of involvement. “That’s not gaming the system. That’s staying within the letter of the law,” said Kris Krane, a cannabis consultant who is familiar with the Illinois industry and is not involved in the lawsuit. Messages seeking comment on the lawsuit from Khalatbari and Denver Relief Consulting were not immediately returned. Khalatbari founded a Denver pizza chain called Sexy Pizza and has been an outspoken advocate for legal and regulated marijuana. Earlier this month, he lost an election for an at-large Denver city council seat. The new lawsuit alleges Denver Relief Consulting and founding partner Khalatbari entered into agreements with two Illinois companies – Cresco Labs and Progressive Treatment Solutions – “in a scheme to control and profit from more than three different cannabis cultivation centers,” said attorney Kathleen McDonough, who represents Waukegan-based Medponics. Between them, Cresco and Progressive now hold four cultivation permits and are in the running for a fifth. “He calls himself different
McHenry County reports now online By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com Your smartphone or computer can now do more than give you customer ratings of your favorite McHenry County eateries. A visit to the McHenry County Department of Health’s website can tell you how well it scored on its food safety inspection. Health officials earlier this month put a search engine on the department website that allows people to view food establishment inspection reports dating back to 2010. The public can review reports for all 1,275 licensed food establishments in McHenry County, from restaurants to supermarkets, school cafeterias or anywhere that food is prepared. Public demand for inspection reports, as well as health departments nationwide posting them online, prompted McHenry County to follow suit, Public Health Administrator Michael Hill said. The health department fields several Freedom of Information Act requests a week for inspection reports. “The main issue here is that if we’re getting FOIAs for these, it means people are interested, and if they’re interested, why not just put it out there for them?” Hill said. The portal, which can be found at www.mcdh.info, includes information
Voice your opinion Have you ever looked up a restaurant’s health inspection report? Vote online at NWHerald. com. on how inspections are conducted and how to read the one-page inspection reports. Because the search engine requires exact spellings of establishments as they are printed on their reports, the best way to find a particular establishment is to look up its permit number, which can be obtained from a master sheet available on the website. Food establishments get routine inspections one to three times a year, depending on their likelihood to spread food-borne illnesses. They are rated on a 100-point scale, with each violation – there are a total of 45 possible infractions – lowering the score between 1 to 5 points, depending on severity. While most are minor, meaning they can be corrected by the next routine inspection, 13 of them are “critical” violations that must be fixed either immediately or within 10 days of the inspection, unless the health department grants an inspection. Critical violations include food kept at inadequate temperatures, poor hygiene practices, or the presence
See INSPECTIONS, page A7
Illustration by R. Scott Helmchen – shelmchen@shawmedia.com
See LAWSUIT, page A2
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