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McHenry reaches regional final with 5-1 win over Crystal Lake South / C1 NWHerald.com
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Former House speaker indicted Hastert charged in relation to payments of hush money, accused of lying to FBI The ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO – Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million in hush money to keep a person from the town where he was a longtime high school teacher silent about “prior misconduct” by the Illinois Republican who was once second in line to the U.S. presidency, according to a federal grand
jury indictment handed down Thursday. The indictment, which doesn’t describe the alleged misconduct by Hastert, charges the 73-year-old with one count of evading bank regulations by withdrawing $952,000 in increments of less than $10,000 to skirt reporting requirements. He also is charged with one count of lying to the FBI about the reason
for the unusual withdrawals. Each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of five years Dennis in prison and a Hastert $250,000 fine. Hastert did not return email and phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on
the allegations. Hastert, who had worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., since shortly after he left Congress in 2007, resigned from Dickstein Shapiro LLC, a spokesman for the lobbying and law firm said Thursday. The indictment alleges Hastert withdrew a total of about $1.7 million in cash from various bank accounts from 2010 to 2014, then provided the
money to a person identified in the indictment only as “Individual A.” Hastert allegedly agreed to pay the person $3.5 million, but never apparently paid that full amount. It notes that Hastert was a high school teacher and coach from 1965 to 1981 in suburban Yorkville, about 50 miles west of Chicago. While the indictment says Individual A has been a resident of Yorkville
and has known Hastert most of Individual A’s life, it doesn’t describe their relationship. The indictment says Hastert agreed to the payments after multiple meetings in 2010. It says that “during at least one of the meetings, Individual A and defendant discussed past misconduct by defendant against Individual A that had
See HASTERT, page A2
Child care center in McHenry shuttered
‘THE HISTORY OF BOATING ON THE FOX CHAIN-O’LAKES’
License lost after state investigation By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Photo provided by the Lakes Region Historical Society
Jack O’Conner’s Blarney Island was once a houseboat several hundred yards west of the shallow, open waters of Grass Lake. This photo was taken between 1920 and 1925. From the turn of the century into the 1950s, this bar and hotel complex was a favorite destination for tourists who came to see its rare, exotic and famous lotus flower beds. Today, the lotus flowers are gone, but Blarney Island remains open with a boating bar, according to Dave Lester’s book, “The History of Boating on the Fox Chain-O’Lakes.”
New book highlights local waterway By TARAH THORNE tthorne@shawmedia.com The past 27 years of Dave Lester’s life have revolved around summer, eagerly awaiting boating season and play time on the Fox Chain O’Lakes. Now retired, Lester’s passion for water sports and investigative research has moved him to ink the history of McHenry and Lake County waterways for generations to come. “The History of Boating on the Fox Chain-O’Lakes” is a nearly 600-page account
of the various uses of the Fox River and the Chain O’Lakes – starting in the mid-1800s, when steam paddle-wheeler boats were transporting passengers and goods, leading up to the recreational boating and racing that came after the turn of the 20th century. Lester, a Crystal Lake native who has moved often around Lake County, most recently settling in Salem, Wisconsin, started writing the book about three years ago when he said he realized “no one knew anything about past drag boat racers.”
SPORTS
“I began researching some of the earliest races and quickly realized there was a never-ending story there,” Lester said. Describing himself as always being a bit of a “water rat,” Lester started attending Blarney Island drag boat races on Thursday evenings in Antioch 25 years ago with a friend, Gary Frankowski, who soon became Lester’s racing partner. The duo has been racing since 1999, havPhoto provided by Rob Hardman and Blarney Island, Inc. ing captured 16 season High Beginning in the 1980s, race fans would travel to Blarney Island Point Championship titles.
See BOOK, page A7
in Antioch by private boat or shuttle to watch Thursday night drag boat races.
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Funeral home lawsuit tossed
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Judge dismisses civil case; family had alleged services for son were mishandled / A3 STATE
Bulls fire head coach
Gambling expansion
Tom Thibodeau ousted after five seasons; team officials cite lack of trust / C1
Effort to expand Illinois gambling likely pushed into summer / B3
McHENRY – A McHenry child care center lost its license after an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigation uncovered numerous violations, including repeated instances when facility leaders failed to screen staff and cared for more children than law allows, state officials said. Safari Childcare, 2214 W. Route 120, closed abruptly May 22 after a state probe into violations at the center, DCFS spokeswoman Veronica Resa said this week. “They surrendered their license during enforcement proceedings,” Resa said. “Basically, their license was revoked. That would have been effective on Friday.” A license compliance tracking report from DCFS shows the shuttered McHenry facility had been at the center of complaints since January 2011. Records reveal there have been more than a dozen complaints that the center violated state rules regarding class sizes and staffing. Staff was not equipped to properly discipline children and did not keep proper medical records for children, according to repeated violations noted last year. Center staff also did not immediately report suspected child abuse or neglect on two occasions from 2013 to 2014, records show. One substantiated complaint from 2013 shows the center went against state law
See CENTER, page A6
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