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Retirement deal draws criticism
DRIVING PASSION
County health official receives $47K for unused vacation time By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: Chris Freund of McHenry parks his 1966 Chevrolet Nova on Monday during the opening night of the fifth season of the Green Street Cruise Night in McHenry. TOP: Stuart Swanson (left), 18, and Katelyn Hudjera, 19, both of McHenry, sit in the back of Swanson’s Ford F-150 during the cruise night’s opening night. BELOW: Keith Johnson (left) of McHenry and Joe Laubinger of Lake Villa look at a 1964 Ford Falcon during the cruise night. Green Street Cruise Night runs Monday nights through Sept. 29.
Interest grows as summer car shows rev up nostalgia Story by JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com n
Photos by SARAH NADER snader@shawmedia.com
T
here are not enough days in the week for Kerry Kirkley’s car shows. Kirkley, owner and operator of Double K Productions, runs eight weekly car shows during the summer including Thursday events in Huntley and hosts 35 competitive showcases during the same time. The popularity boom of car shows has come as no surprise to Kirkley who said as more baby boomers begin to retire they start to put disposable income toward nostalgic hobbies such as vintage vehicles. “Nostalgia definitely plays a part,” Kirkley said. “You’ll often hear a parent or grandparent walking by with kids and pointing to a car saying ‘I used to drive that when I was in high
Cruise night schedule For the complete 2014 McHenry County cruise night and car show schedule, scan the code or visit shawurl. com/cruise. school.’” McHenry County has dozens of car shows every summer including weekly events in Huntley, Cary, McHenry
and Port Barrington. The increasing frequency in events and close proximity to one another has created multiple groups of classic car enthusiasts who have been instrumental in growing interest in shows. Wayne Bastiaans, a member of Northern Illinois Streeters, said his love for car shows started in 2000 when he first went to the Cary Cruise Night. Over the years, he said he has seen the
See CAR SHOW, page A4
The $47,479 parting gift that former McHenry County Public Health Administrator Patrick McNulty received raised the blood pressure of a County Board committee. McNulty, who retired at the end of May after 35 years with the McHenry County Department of Health, cashed in about 80 days of unused vacation time, or about four years’ worth, given the rate at which he accumulated it, according to records. While county government in 2006 significantly curtailed how much vacation time employees can carry over, the Board of Health at the time granted McNulty an exemption. The fact that McNulty’s case is unique, and that allegations of other health department executives having similar deals turned out to be unfounded, was not much of a consolation to the County Board Public Health and Human Services Committee. Member Paula Yensen, who addressed the issue at Wednesday’s meeting after learning of it, said taxpayers gave him “a very nice going-away present.” “I don’t know of anyone in the business world who gets that kind of a deal,” said Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills. “Most businesses require their employees to take their vacation or lose it, at most rolling over one week of vacation to the next year. But McNulty got a sweet deal due to a questionable decision by the Board of Health. I can’t blame McNulty for taking advantage of the gift. But I do question why the Board of Health allowed this.” The makeup of the 12-member Board of Health has almost completely changed since the exemption was granted. But the retirement payout may end up as a supporting argument if the County Board decides to take advantage of an impending state law that would grant it greater power to remove appointees from boards and commissions for not following financial, ethical and other guidelines.
Patrick McNulty Former McHenry County public health administrator
Paula Yensen County Board Public Health and Human Services Commitee member
“Most businesses require their employees to take their vacation or lose it, at most rolling over one week of vacation to the next year. But McNulty got a sweet deal due to a questionable decision by the Board of Health. I can’t blame McNulty for taking advantage of the gift. But I do question why the Board of Health allowed this.” Paula Yensen D-Lake in the Hills McNulty’s cashed in 645 hours of vacation, calculated on the $143,526 salary he made at the time of his retirement, resulting in a starting monthly Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund pension of $7,943, or $95,316 a year, according to information obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The IMRF said that figure likely will change slightly when it obtains his final wage report for June from the county. Because IMRF is administered differently from the five state-run pension systems – for example, its 3 percent cost-of living increase is not compounded – the impact of the vacation payout to his pension will not be as significant. Monthly pension is calculated by the average
See RETIREMENT, page A4
Illinois residents could register to vote on Election Day By SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press CHICAGO – From Election Day registration to more time to cast early ballots, Illinois voters could see fewer restrictions in November under a measure Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign into law. Democrats pushed the legislation last month on the second-to-last day of the spring session with the idea that it would boost voter turnout. However, Illinois Republicans claim
it is part of a larger effort to increase Democrats’ numbers at the polls in a competitive election, namely Quinn’s bid for a second full term against Republican businessman Bruce Rauner. The proposal, which follows abysmal voter turnout in the March primary, comes as a record number of voter questions also could appear on the November ballot. That includes a signature-driven effort for term limits backed by Rauner to poll-style questions pushed by Democrats that
wouldn’t affect policy. The topics include minimum wage, birth control and a tax on millionaires. Quinn favors the same-day voter registration plan as a way to remove barriers for voters. He dismissed claims Wednesday that the plan was an effort to pump up Democrats’ votes. “I think that’s baloney. We should ... find every way possible to encourage people to participate in the pro-
Gov. Pat Quinn speaks to members of the City Club of Chicago on April 28. Quinn is expected to sign a measure that would give Illinois voters less restrictions and more time to cast early ballots. Democrats believe the legislation will boost voter turnout. AP file photo/Sun-Times Media, Richard A. Chapman
See VOTING, page A4
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