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Signs delay park district land purchase LITH board to vote whether to extend annexation deal By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com LAKE IN THE HILLS – A delay in the removal of two billboards is causing the Crystal Lake Park District to need more time to close on a purchase of 27 acres of land at 8917 Ackman Road. In March, the Lake in the Hills Village Board agreed to annex the land to allow the park district to potentially build a recreation center and aquatic center. However, the park district had 120 days to close on the land, or its agreement with the village would become null and void. The 120 days has expired, according to a memo from Lake in the Hills Community Development Director Dan Olson. The park district has asked for more time to complete the purchase. Park district Executive Director Jason Herbster had previously said he expected the park district to close on the property for $625,000 in April. Herbster said two small billboards remain on the property and have to be removed before the park district takes ownership of the land. The removal of the billboards is being worked out by the current owner of the property and the billboard owner, Herbster said. “We’re hoping this will wrap up pretty quickly to keep things moving along,” Herbster said. Village staff has proposed setting a new deadline of Jan. 22 for the park district to close on the property.
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Community members listen as Conrad Anderson, senior director of engineering for Enventure Partners, answers questions about the proposed Oakwood Hills power plant Tuesday during an open house on the project in Crystal Lake. Oakwood Hills will host a zoning hearing on the project at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn at 800 S. Route 31.
Voicing concerns After open house, some Oakwood Hills residents still oppose $450 million power plant proposal By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE –The first public presentation of a proposed $450 million power plant was mostly met with concern and resistance from residents wanting to put a stop to the project before it progresses any further. Representatives from joint project managers Enventure Partners and Northland Power set up informational stations at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn on Tuesday for a four-hour open house designed to answer questions on water usage, pollution concerns and environmental effects the 430-megawatt, natural gas plant would have on the area. Information on water usage plans, minimal noise and “negligible” pollutant and chemical emissions did little to ease the fear and anger of many residents.
“Everything looks nice, but I’m still very, very afraid. My concerns were heard, but they were not addressed. It’s not that we’re trying to be negative but many people are afraid and still can’t get a handle on what’s really true.” Kate Bieschke Oakwood Hills resident who teaches at Prairie Grove Junior High
“Everything looks nice, but I’m still very, very afraid,” said Oakwood Hills resident Kate Bieschke, who teaches at Prairie Grove Junior High. “My concerns were heard, but they were not addressed. It’s not that we’re trying to be negative but many people are afraid and still can’t get a handle on what’s really true.” Opposition quickly grew after most residents heard about the project for the first time earlier in the month. A “Stop the Oakwood Hills
Power Plant” Facebook page has more than 720 likes while an online fundraising campaign has brought in more than $4,100 in three days for potential attorney fees in fighting the project. Project engineer Conrad Anderson said water usage is a chief concern for many residents, which is why a plan is being developed to use “gray” water from sewage treatment plants to help with the 1.5 million gallons of water per day the plant will need for cooling. The plan calls for 65
percent of the water source to come from treatment plants in the beginning and gradually increase to 100 percent as the capacity of those plants increase. Information provided also detailed the community education center that will be part of the plant, the safety features such as the continuous flow of natural gas instead of storage of flammable materials that increases chances for explosions and the beautification of the site to prevent the plant from becoming an eyesore. Presentation boards showed the noise would be less disturbing than a lawnmower from three feet away as there is a 50-decibel limit. Emissions such as lead compounds and mercury would be “negligible” compared to the Waukegan plant, according to developers.
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If you go n WHAT: Lake in the Hills Village Board meeting n WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday n WHERE: Village Hall, 600 Harvest Gate The Village Board is scheduled to vote on the matter at its meeting Thursday. Herbster said he hopes the district is able to close on the property within the next month, and the January deadline is meant to avoid needing to extend the annexation agreement again. Herbster added there is no issue with the financing for the project and that associated paperwork is ready to go, but has yet to be executed. Whatever is built on the land will depend on the outcome of an attitude and interest survey, and whether a potential future referendum passes, park district officials have said. If the park district builds a recreation center it could have a fitness center, a gym to play basketball, walking track, banquet space, preschool classrooms or multipurpose rooms. If something is eventually built, residents of Lake in the Hills would pay a fee that is no more than the midpoint between a park district resident fee and nonresident fee to use the facility.
“We’re hoping this will wrap up pretty quickly to keep things moving along.” Jason Herbster, Crystal Lake Park District executive director
See CONCERNS, page A4
New law empowers County Board to remove appointees Boards that represents 300K or more residents can adopt ethical, fiscal standards for members By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com A new state law will make it easier for the McHenry County Board to throw appointed members out of its numerous boards and commissions. Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 3552 into law Monday, which gives larger counties the ability to draft standards of conduct that people whom the board appoints to subordinate bodies have to honor. It also provides a mechanism by which violators can be removed. It sailed through the General Assembly earlier this year without a single opposing
vote. The law allows county boards with 300,000 or more residents to adopt standards for accountability, fiscal responsibility, transparency, efficiency and ethics, meaning appointees can be removed not just for ethical lapses, but for offenses such as being too profligate with taxpayer money or violating the Open Meetings Act or other open-government laws. An appointee can be removed, after getting a hearing, by a two-thirds vote, which for the McHenry County Board is 16 of its 24 members. The law does not empower county
On the Web You can read the text of Senate Bill 3552 at www.ilga.gov.
boards to remove their own members or anyone else popularly elected. County Board Chairwoman Tina Hill lauded the bill becoming law. She called it “ludicrous” that county government’s sole realistic recourse for accountability over commissions – some of which have multimillion-dollar budgets funded through local property taxes – has been to wait until
terms expire to replace underperforming appointees. “I’m very pleased with it. I think the appointing body should be able to remove an appointee for cause, so we can have a true measure of accountability over them,” Hill, R-Woodstock, said Tuesday morning. For many boards and commissions, no legal mechanism existed to remove members. State law allowed members of some boards to be removed in cases of “abuse or neglect,” but offered no concrete definition of what rises to such an offense. McHenry County govern-
ment appoints about 250 people to at least 35 boards and commissions. While the issue of appointments came to a head in recent years with back-toback scandals on the Metra Board, the County Board in recent years has butted heads with its Mental Health Board and the Board of Health. Although the law does not take effect until Jan. 1, the board’s Management Services Committee will soon begin work on drafting standards of conduct, committee Chairwoman Paula Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills, said.
“I think this will offer some checks and balances as to how committees will conduct themselves, and we will have the ability to do what’s necessary and what’s in the best interests of the community regarding a commission member’s performance.” Paula Yensen
See STANDARDS, page A4
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Man acquitted
Home sales dip
Family, friends make trip to Wrigley to see Jake Goebbert / C1
Judge: Accidentally sending picture of penis to minor was not reckless / A3
McHenry County saw a 3.2 percent home sales drop in June / E1
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