THURSDAY
May 28 , 2015 • $ 1 .0 0
EVENING THE SERIES
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EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS IN ILLINOIS
Child services face cuts
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Senate passes tougher DUI law Family of teen killed in ’03 crash pushed for bill By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Photos by Sarah Nader –snader@shawmedia.com
Leah Stanton holds her son, Cullen, 2, on May 20 at their Crystal Lake home. The Stantons moved to Crystal Lake to take advantage of an early intervention program for Cullen, who started showing signs of autism at an early age. Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed making it tougher for children to qualify for early intervention services.
CL family, advocates champion programs for young children Inside
By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com Cuts to certain state-funded human services programs have critics calling Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal “reckless,” “uninformed” and “devastating.” Specifically, Rauner’s plan to fix the state’s financial crisis would gut early intervention programs for toddlers with developmental delays, local advocates say. Early intervention programs are designed to identify children from birth to 3 years old who are not meeting developmental milestones. These children might have diagnoses such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy. Others might have difficulty speaking clearly or understanding language, problems with movement or behavior, or have vision or hearing loss. Early intervention provides these children and their families with in-home therapy sessions, tools and resources to work with their child’s diagnosis, and can provide adaptive toys and equipment. Payment is based on a sliding scale and can be anywhere from $30 to $250, depending on income.
n Illinois Senate rejects Rauner’s priorities, advances budget. Page B3
Cullen Stanton, 2, plays May 20 at his Crystal Lake home. Early intervention therapists come to the Stantons’ home five days a week for one-hour sessions. Since starting the program, Cullen began picking up words. These programs are operated through Child and Family Connections and funded primarily by the Department of Human Services. Locally, early intervention is administered by Crystal Lakebased Options and Advocacy for McHenry County. Birth to 3-year-olds make the most significant gains in development, Options and Advocacy Executive Director Cindy Sullivan said.
Under Rauner’s plan, the threshold by which children are eligible for the program would be increased to a 50 percent delay, up from a 30 percent. For example, a 12-month-old child who’s developing at 50 percent would be like a 6-month-old baby. That child might not be able to sit up without help, while a 12-month-old should be able to crawl or even walk. A child that age with a 50 percent delay might
not be able to hold a bottle or have trouble coordinating his or her hands for simple play or clapping, while developing 1-yearolds can use a cup with help, pick up small pieces of food and start to hold a spoon. Rauner said these cuts may be unpopular but are necessary to close the budget gap. The governor estimates these cuts could save $23 million. “We must be willing to take actions we’d rather avoid, and make decisions that may seem unpopular in the short run, but serve the best interest of the people of Illinois in the long run,” the governor said after unveiling his first budget proposal. Statewide, it’s estimated that thousands of children will be left out of the program. Locally, it’s about 270 children who could be deemed ineligible under the new proposed guidelines, Sullivan said.
A law that makes it tougher for repeat DUI offenders to get their licenses reinstated – inspired by the recent arrest of one who killed a Wonder Lake teenager in 2003 – is on its way to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk. House Bill 3533, which passed the Illinois Senate on Tuesday, increases to five years the amount of time that a repeat DUI offender has to be on a restricted driving permit – and drive with a breath ignition interlock – before he or she can apply to the secretary of state’s office to get More online a full license reinstated. Repeat offenders n You can read under current law can the text of House get a device removed Bill 3533 at www. after only 12 consecuilga.gov. tive months of driving without the device detecting alcohol. The bill passed the House and Senate without a single opposing vote. James Stitt in May 2003 struck and killed 17-year-old Caitlin Weese, just weeks before her 18th birthday and her graduation from Larkin High School in Elgin. Stepfather Joel Mains and his family began pressing for a change to the law after learning in November that Stitt was arrested in Palatine for driving under the influence. Stitt was driving on a suspended license and had two previous convictions at the time he killed Weese. “Our family put a lot of effort into moving this bill forward, and to see it not only pass both chambers, but the committees in both chambers, unanimously, is a pretty good feeling,” Mains said Wednesday morning. “We’re trying to stop this from happening to another family, and by extending the time from one year to five using an [ignition device], hopefully this will do that.” Mains reached out to state Rep. Barbara Wheeler, R-Crystal Lake, whom he had run against weeks earlier in the 2014 election as her Democratic opponent. But Wheeler immediately saw the need for change and worked with Mains to craft the bill, and subsequently carried it through the House. Mains’ state senator, Pam Althoff, R-McHenry, carried the bill in the Senate. “Joel Mains and his family initiated this, and kept everyone motivated and kept the ball rolling,” Wheeler said. Stitt was sentenced to seven and a half
See CUTS, page A6
See DUI LAW, page A6
Crystal Lake wakeboard park won’t open this summer City waives hook-on fee for project; opening is tentatively set for 2016 The project is moving ahead – the foundation is in and the curbs for the parking CRYSTAL LAKE – A cable lot have been installed – but wakeboard park will not be the winter was a slow one with opening at Three Oaks Rec- some issues putting the puzzle reation Area this summer as pieces together, co-developer originally planned, one of its Charlie Copley said. developers said. The privately developed
By EMILY K. COLEMAN
ecoleman@shawmedia.com
wakeboard cable area on the southern shoreline of the 32acre North Lake, which will be called The Quarry, is now tentatively set to open in 2016, Crystal Lake Deputy City Manager Eric Helm said. “Losing the whole season was a big blow, but I think in actuality it’s for the better in the grand scheme of things,” Copley said. “[In] the springtime, I was really kicking myself, [but] we’re going to be a
lot more prepared on the business side of it. Everything’s going to be 100 percent there and operable instead of bits and pieces. There’s a lot to it. It’s not just a quick little thing to get up and running.” The park will be on the southern shoreline of the north lake and feature a clubhouse, full restaurant and outdoor patio for dining and viewing, a stage for live music, sand volleyball courts, an out-
door hot tub, a fire pit and a beach area for people to watch the riders. Cable wakeboarding works similar to wakeboarding behind a boat, but instead of using a boat, riders move along a cable system suspended in the air by a series of towers around the lake. Multiple cable wakeboard courses will be constructed to accommodate riders ranging from beginners to experts. The
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advanced course will feature six towers installed in the lake connected by a motorized cable that will pull riders along a course of jumps. The developers also will not have to pay the water and sewer infrastructure availability fee normally required to hook onto the city’s water and sewer system, Helm said. The council waived the fee – which
Obituaries ......................... A7 Opinion...............................B2 Puzzles ............................D6-7 Sports..............................C1-5 State ................................... B3 Stocks................................. A7 TV listings ......................... D7 Weather .............................A8
See PARK, page A6