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Prairie Ridge beats crosstown rival Crystal Lake Central, 3-1, earns 4th straight regional title / C1
HERALD RALD
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Bill on gov’t consolidation stuck Measure sponsored by Franks yet to move out of Senate committee By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com State Sen. Pam Althoff said she cannot move a contentious government consolidation bill out of committee because she no longer has control of it – an assertion that the bill’s angry
House sponsor rejects. House Bill 229, which would give the McHenry and Lake county boards the same power to consolidate some units of government that DuPage County has, is stuck in the Senate Executive Committee. Althoff said she cannot
Spelling champ prepares for bee
call it for a vote because it’s in the hands of Senate President John Cullerton, whom House sponsor Jack Franks asked to have Althoff removed as sponsor, alleging she sponsored his bill with the intent of stopping it. Furthermore, Althoff said,
she has been informed by Senate Democratic staff that Committee Chairman Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, will not advance the bill. “Since Jack went to John Cullerton and asked for my removal, John Cullerton has been in absolute control of it,”
Althoff, R-McHenry, said. Franks, D-Marengo, says that’s not true. His request to Cullerton never went to the Senate Assignments Committee to be ruled on, he said, meaning that Althoff can call
See BILL, page A4
Pam Althoff
Jack Franks
LOCAL FOOD ON MENU
By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com JOHNSBURG – Mareike Western has spent at least 16 hours online in the past two months. But unlike most 14-yearolds, Western is spending her time on the Internet studying a list of more than 2,000 words that she could encounter when she heads to the Scripps National Spelling Bee next week. “Some of them are familiar and some of them are like, I totally know that,” Western said. “I just try to learn the ones I don’t know and hope I get the ones I do know.” The Johnsburg Junior High eighth-grader won an all-expenses-paid trip to the national bee by winning the McHenry County Spelling Bee in March. She will be one of 285 students in third through eighth grade who will converge in Washington to spell their way through competitive rounds. Photos by H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
See SPELLING, page A10
Micro-farmer Troy Edmonds tills the earth before planting red oak leaf lettuce on his land in Marengo. Edmonds offers locally grown fruits and vegetables of specialty varieties to McHenry County residents at the Woodstock Farmers Market. BELOW: Adam Peterson of Lake in the Hills plants young red oak leaf lettuce.
County farms, businesses increase availability of food grown in area By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
T Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Mareike Western, 14, of Johnsburg poses for a portrait Wednesday at her home. The Johnsburg Junior High School eighth-grader will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
he newest item on the menu of 1776 Restaurant in Crystal Lake is a living salad. It starts with trays lined with still-growing greens shipped from the Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Center in Woodstock. The culinary staff snip each ingredient as the salad’s ordered, sending it to the table shortly after. “We use radish sprouts, green pea shoots and Russian red kale,” owner Andy Andresky said. “We have three different greens that when you make a salad they cut those shoots right from the
SPORTS
ground. I think that’s the future of food.” Although some barriers remain for getting McHenry County-grown food onto local tables, business owners, farmers and officials say they have made strides to increase the availability of locally grown food. The phrase “locally sourced food” appears in the mission statement of 1776, at 397 W. Virginia St. What that means is patrons can expect to eat food grown or raised in the region. By USDA standards, anything that is grown within 400 miles is considered local.
See FOOD, page A4
LOCAL NEWS
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Johnsburg’s District 12 board will have to revote to hire high school football coach / A3 STATE
‘It feels so good’ Huntley’s Macy Tramblay and Cary-Grove’s Eva Burk headed to 100 hurdles final at the state track and field meet in Charleston / C1
Voice your opinion: How often do you buy locally grown food? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
Legislative stalemate Democrats giving no hint of compromise with Gov. Bruce Rauner on budget / A6