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HERALD RALD
NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
PATRIOTIC MUSICAL PROGRAM: Members of the Cary Canaries perform a patriotic musical program Friday at the Crystal Lake Senior Services Memorial Day service in Crystal Lake.
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Camp funds could be cut
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS: Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary member Valerie Wood-Hellyer places flags at the graves of veterans Thursday in the Algonquin cemetery.
A TIME TO REFLECT
State dollars in jeopardy for CL parks programs By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
Photos by H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
Vietnam veteran Jim Mertz with the Lake in the Hills American Legion Post 1231 checks a veteran grave locater map while placing flags Thursday in the Algonquin cemetery. Post 1231 members have been placing flags on the graves of veterans for the past 24 years. Mertz washes the flags, irons the flags and replaces them when worn and tattered. Mertz has been rallying a group for the past 21 years, with varying success, to place American flags at every veteran’s gravesite at the Algonquin cemetery, where there are 291 veterans buried. Some years, he’s done the job solo, although this year he had others assisting his efforts.
Memorial Day event organizers hope to bring in younger people Voice your opinion: Will you or did you attend a Memorial Day event? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
Inside: For a listing of Memorial Day events throughout McHenry County, turn to PAGE A4.
By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com After 15 years of helping to plan Memorial Day events, Jim Mertz, a Vietnam War veteran from Lake in the Hills, has one main hope this year. “I want people to bring their younger kids so we can show them exactly what Memorial Day is all about,” said the 68-year-old member of the Lake in the Hills American Legion Post 1231.
“It’s not about a day off school or a mattress sale. “It seems like this country is really forgetting about its veterans and about Memorial Day.” Throughout McHenry County on Monday, events like the one Mertz has planned will bring veterans, residents, city and village officials, weather permitting, to honor those who have served their country. Others in the same planning posi-
tions as Mertz echoed his hope, emphasizing the importance of the country’s next generation to participate in veteran and military appreciation. As part of the sponsoring organization, the American Legion Post 673, 72-year-old Patrick Conley is organizing Huntley’s ceremony for the fourth year. Conley, who also served during the
See REFLECT, page A9
CRYSTAL LAKE – State funding for many of the families that use the Crystal Lake Park District’s day camps and after-school programs as their primary day care provider may be eliminated, a park district official said. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year suggests limiting the funding program to children ages 5 and younger, leaving most of the children who use the park district’s programs without funding, said Kim Buscemi, the district’s superintendent of recreation services. The state funding covers, on average, about half of the programs’ fees and the park district has typically covered the other half, about $92,000, Buscemi said. The idea is that if the funding disappears July 1 – the beginning of the state’s budget year – the families could apply for a 50 percent waiver of the program fees, keeping the park district’s costs about the same, Buscemi said. That would mean that to attend camp this summer for the whole season with both before and after care, families would have to come up with about $650 a child, she said, adding that about 48 children in the district’s Extended Time program receive the funding currently and 58 of the summer camps’ participants do. District staff also is investigating the possibility of community members and businesses being able to sponsor a child, Executive Director Jason Herbster said. The idea was suggested by one of the park district’s elected commissioners, although Herbster added that such a program can be difficult to make work because
See FUNDS, page A9
Campaign-style tactics fueling Illinois legislative gridlock By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – An already challenging legislative session has grown even trickier as Democrats and Republicans have begun targeting lawmakers with campaign-style mailers, TV ads and new multimillion-dollar political committees. The Democratic Party, led by House Speaker Michael Madigan, sent the first of what’s expected to be sever-
al mailers, telling voters last week that GOP lawmakers “failed” them on controlling property taxes, citing a vote orchestrated by Madigan. Meanwhile, Gov. Bruce Rauner dispensed $400,000 from his $20 million political fund to fellow Republicans, while a conservative group targeted Democrats in TV commercials. Two political committees – one created to support Rauner’s agenda and another that plans to get involved in
Democratic primaries – have banked about $13 million from a handful of wealthy donors since forming last month. Madigan recently held his annual fundraiser, and the state GOP has been sending fund- Michael raising pleas Madigan to supporters asking them to donate to support Rauner’s
efforts. “Clearly the political season has begun,” said state Sen. Melinda Bush of Grayslake, one of the targeted Democrats. While it’s not unheard of for political parties Bruce or interest Rauner groups to target lawmakers during a legislative ses-
sion – even 18 months before Election Day – the activity is amped up this year as the election of a Republican governor brings a new dynamic to the Democrat-controlled Legislature. It’s unusual for a governor to so directly throw a bunch of money around, but Rauner sees it as simply counteracting what Democrats have done for a long time. With lawmakers heading into the spring session’s final week, some legislators say the heightened politicking is
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making progress tougher on major issues such as a new state budget, a $111 billion pension crisis, reining in property taxes and weighing whether to expand gambling. And the session so far has become a huge test of political wills. Democrats want a tax increase to help close a more than $6 billion deficit in next year’s budget, but Rauner has said he won’t agree to any new
See GRIDLOCK, page A9
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