NWH-5-5-2014

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Lakewood Autism advocacy walker FRG teen raises money for Autism Speaks walk resident to pitch for cure Woman to be a focal point of Cubs’ breast cancer campaign By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com LAKEWOOD – Tina Conrad will be at Wrigley Field on Monday to help Save 2nd Base. The 37-year-old Lakewood resident will be a focal point of the Chicago Cubs’ breast cancer awareness campaign as she will throw out the first pitch and take part in other in-game ceremonies with more than 50 other breast cancer survivors and patients. Conrad was diagnosed with breast cancer in August but already had a history with the disease as she watched her mother defeat it twice. That experience along with the staff and support at the Elgin branch of Advocate Health Care – which teamed up with the Cubs and Save 2nd Base organization for the event – has instilled a positive attitude as she continues her fight. “The reality of me getting it was always in the back of my mind, but I always thought I would be older,” Conrad said of the diagnosis. “But I said to myself this is just what it is and I am going to get through it. I’ve tried to keep a positive attitude.” Having celebrated a

Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

Niko Sandberg, 14, of Fox River Grove hangs up a Walk Now for Autism Speaks flier April 30 at Colonial Cafe in Crystal Lake. Sandberg was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in 2011 and has raised more than $2,500 in the past two years for Autism Speaks.

By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com Niko Sandberg goes into businesses with lots of foot traffic and speaks to the manager. The 14-year-old Fox River Grove resident asks if he can put up one of his fliers, promoting the annual Walk Now for Autism Speaks on

May 17. So far he has been to about 20 businesses. Niko says he gets frazzled as he explains the prevalence of Autism. According to the Autism Speaks website, 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls in the country are diagnosed with Autism. He adds that money raised goes toward research and advocacy of Autism.

Niko is raising money as he and his parents prepare to participate for the third time in the annual Autism Speaks Walk. During the previous two years, he has raised more than $2,500 for Autism Speaks. This year, Niko’s team will have eight people.

See AUTISM, page A8

To donate To contribute to Niko Sandberg’s Walk Now for Autism Speaks, go to http:// shawurl. com/159w or scan the Quick Response code.

See PITCH, page A8

“The reality of me getting it was always in the back of my mind, but I always thought I would be older. But I said to myself ... I am going to get through it.” Tina Conrad a Lakewood resident, said of her breast cancer diagnosis

Ill. schools struggle to soften pension losses The Associated Press CHAMPAIGN – Concerned about retirements and its ability to recruit new professors, the University of Illinois is working on a plan to make up for what employees will lose after the state’s landmark pension overhaul, but most other state universities say they don’t have the ability to follow suit. Most say they just don’t have the money to do anything about it. “Where does this money come from?” said Matt Bierman, budget director at Western Illinois University, where up to 150 employ-

ees are expected to retire, almost 8 percent of the university’s 2,000 staff and faculty. “If we’re going to add another benefit to our employees, which is probably deserved, we still have to find the revenue or cut expenses.” Illinois lawmakers passed the pension overhaul plan last December to address a $100 billion shortfall in funding state retirement benefits. Signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn, it cut cost-of-living increases for retirees and capped the amount of earnings that can be applied toward pensions. The changes take effect in June, but the plan is being challenged in court. That includes a

LOCALLY SPEAKING

motion filed Friday in Sangamon County by a group that represents university employees and retirees asking that the law be entirely set aside until its constitutionality has been determined. But many employees of public universities already have decided to retire to avoid losing pension benefits under a new way of calculating them due to the overhaul – or are considering it. In April, state universities identified an additional problem – an unintended glitch with a date in the law that could further reduce pension payouts for several thousand university employees. Lawmakers last week filed legisla-

tion to fix that problem, but there is no guarantee it will happen. The State University Employees Retirement System says more than 400 employees at the University of Illinois campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield have filed paperwork to retire in May and June. And many more are possible. Details of the U of I plan to cushion employees’ losses have yet to be decided, but many administrators assume it will happen. They hope it will keep as many current faculty members around as possible and keep the university on par

AP photo

David Cahill, the head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, poses April 28 in a lab in the department’s building in Urbana. Cahill is among many faculty and staff members on public university campuses in Illinois considering leaving after discovering that state pension reform will sharply cut their retirement funds.

See PENSIONS, page A8

RICHMOND-BURTON

KASKA DOMINANT ON THE MOUND

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Playing defense behind Richmond-Burton’s Mike Kaska practically constitutes a day off or at least several innings off as Kaska and catcher Kory Klicker frequently provide all the necessary glovework. The Rockets are chasing Burlington Central in the division race, which they play Tuesday at Burlington and Thursday at R-B. For more, see page B1.

Mike Moan H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com

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McHENRY COUNTY: Incoming District 200 superintendent discusses goals, Common Core and testing . Local, A3

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