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Democrats seek temporary budget Rauner ready to nix 1-month proposal that would keep state government agencies open By JOHN O’CONNOR and SARA BURNETT The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner appeared ready Tuesday to reject a Democratic proposal aimed at keeping state services functioning for another month, leaving the state without a way to pay bills and leading to questions about what
Grisly photo of crash surfaces
will happen Wednesday morning. House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state’s most powerful Democrat, said Tuesday his short-term fix would provide $2.3 billion to cover one month of state police protection, Medicaid health care coverage for the poor and disabled, child care and more. “The purpose here is to provide that we would avoid the
government shutdown,” the Chicago Democrat told reporters at the state Capitol after a day of politicians Michael s c u r r y i n g Madigan without a clear finish line in sight. Majority Democrats in the Senate were on board with
the stopgap plan. A s k e d whether the governor would support Madigan’s temporary Bruce budget, depRauner uty chief of staff Mike Schrimpf pointed to Rauner’s statement earlier in June that
“an unbalanced short-term budget with no real reforms is still a phony budget and unacceptable to the people of Illinois.” Absent a budget deal, it’s unclear what will happen with state government at the start of business Wednesday. Employee unions have said workers will punch in; there is enough money to pay them through mid-July. Services provided
by private vendors could wind down or end because there’s no guarantee there will be payment for them. Rauner spent Tuesday morning visiting workers at state agencies, assuring them he will do what he can to make sure they continue getting paid. The Democratic attorney general has warned
See BUDGET, page A5
Shared parenting
CL man’s friends push to remove it from Facebook By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Friends and family reeling from the deaths of a Crystal Lake man and a Downers Grove woman are incensed over a photo that appears to show the grisly scene of the fatal motorcycle crash. The photo, which has received more than 100,000 likes and 2,300 shares on various Facebook profiles, seemingly shows 41-year-old Matt SumMatt mers’ severed Summers body laying on the highway near the body of Miranda Valles, 21. Summers and Valles died shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday after Summers lost control of the 2010 BMW motorcycle he was driving at high speeds west on Interstate 290 around Mannheim Road near Hillside, according to police. “People shouldn’t be seeing that kind of stuff on the Internet, especially the family,” friend Dave Weiland said. “Friends should not have to remember their friends with that kind of image.” Weiland said friends and family have reported the photo to Facebook, only to receive a message stating the picture would not be removed, but would be limited to those age 18 and older. Facebook representatives did not respond to a request for comment on its policy for removing posted images. Facebook allows users to report content they feel is annoying, degrading, humiliating or pornographic. Social media site staff reviews the images and issues a response to the person who reported the content. “We remove graphic images when they are shared for sadistic pleasure or to celebrate or glorify violence,”
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Ed Varga and his son, Jim, 17, prepare their coffees June 17 in Richmond. A new study shows that children of divorced parents suffer less stress if they spend time living with both parents.
Study: Children stress less when living at both parents’ homes BY HANNAH PROKOP hprokop@shawmedia.com There’s a specific look to the child of divorced parents getting out of a car with mom and going into a house dragging a suitcase. At least there is for Jim Varga, a 17-year-old from Richmond whose parents divorced in 2005. Jim had his own “my parents are divorced” suitcase, as Jim’s father’s ex-girlfriend called it. Since Jim’s father, Ed Varga, divorced his wife, Jim has lived primarily with his father in Richmond and traveled to his mother’s home every other weekend. Some current thinking says children of divorced parents who move back and forth between households are more stressed; however, a recent study from the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health suggests this may not be the case. After surveying 150,000 children from 12- to 15-years-old in Sweden, the study showed children who lived with both of their separat-
“From my experience, kids do better when they know what their routine is.” Paulette Gray, Family attorney with Gray & Gray LLC in Crystal Lake
Voice your opinion Were your parents married throughout your childhood? Vote online at NWHerald. com. ed parents showed fewer signs of stress than the ones who lived with one parent. Children in nuclear families showed the least signs of stress, according to the study. Signs of stress included sleep problems, loss of appetite and sadness. Dr. Alan Owens, with Owens &
Associates Counseling & Therapy Center LLC in Crystal Lake, has worked with many families affected by divorce. “Children typically do best when they have two loving parents that are concerned with their well-being,” Owens said. He said it’s optimal if they are living together as a family, but that’s not always the case. “I think children can still do very well by having parents that are divorced, separated or never married, living in two separate households, providing them with that emotional support, and nurturing that children need,” Owens said. Jim’s custody agreement allows for him to spend Wednesday nights, every other weekend and one vacation week a year with his mother at her house, but he considers home to be where he and his dad live in Richmond. “You’re supposed to have one place to call home, not two,” Jim said. When he was younger, Jim said
he remembers crying at his mother’s house and wanting to go back to his father’s house. Paulette Gray, family attorney with Gray & Gray LLC in Crystal Lake, has practiced family law for almost 20 years, and said it’s hard to make generalizations when every family unit is different. She said it’s up to the mother and father to determine how the children are going to transition to living with divorced parents, and the best thing for children whose parents are going through a divorce is to have a consistent schedule. “From my experience, kids do better when they know what their routine is,” Gray said. For Jim, a set schedule works best. He always knew what days he would be seeing his mother, and he said it was helpful to have something consistent to hold on to. Varga and his ex-wife have a joint custody agreement, with Varga being the custodial parent who
See DIVORCE, page A5
See PHOTO, page A5
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Want great barbecue sauce? Learn the basic building blocks / D1
McHenry County township consolidation task force members appointed / A3
Ruling spurs backers’ hopes for redistricting changes / B3
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