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July 3 , 2015 • $1.00
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McHenry’s Jesse Reiser is Northwest Herald’s Male Athlete of the Year / C2 NWHerald.com
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Local GOP lawmakers hope for final budget
STUDY: PROBLEM DRINKING AFFECTS 33 MILLION AMERICANS
McConnaughay: Temporary plan same as deficit budget By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Photo illustration by Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
A new study suggests that one-third of adults are “problem drinkers,” and most have never sought treatment, according to a government survey.
Drinking problems take toll on county By ZACH BROOKE
zbrooke@shawmedia.com According to a study released in JAMA Psychiatry – a prominent psychiatric journal – last month, more than 1 in 10 adults are affected by problem drinking in any given year. The study also says many of these 33 million Americans never seek treatment. Additionally, the study found that 30 percent of Americans suffer from drinking
problems at some point in their lives. The study was designed in part to assess the prevalence of alcohol abuse based on a new definition. In the most recent edition of the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, released in 2013, two separate alcohol entries were combined to form alcohol-use disorder. Under the new definition, a person suffers from alcohol-use disorder if he or she
exhibits two or more of 11 distinct symptoms related to alcohol abuse. Drinking problems can be classified as mild to severe, depending on the amount of exhibited symptoms. While the drinking problems for most respondents were classified as mild, 14 percent of participants had severe drinking problems. Rates also were calculated using the old definition of alcohol abuse. Using those numbers, the rates were 13 percent
for current or recent problem drinking, and 44 percent for lifetime prevalence. The last survey, conducted in 2001-02, showed rates of 9 percent for current problem drinking and 30 percent for a lifetime occurrence. Also increasing was the percentage of adults who admitted to binge-drinking – consuming at least five drinks on a single occasion – within
See DRINKING, page A9
The only fireworks that will be seen in Springfield this weekend will be the actual ones marking the anniversary of our nation’s Declaration of Independence. As for fireworks over the now-overdue state budget, the House isn’t scheduled to meet until Wednesday. As for the Senate, it’s not scheduled to convene until July 14, or shortly before the mid-July payday in which many state workers may find themselves without a paycheck. That is, unless either a deal is reached between the Democratic-dominated General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, or the unlikely event that a temporary budget is approved to fund state services until a 12-month deal can be reached. But a temporary budget could be just what the House attempts to do when it reconvenes. While its attempt to pass one Wednesday fell four votes short of the 71 needed, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan could attempt to pass the almost-identical temporary one-month budget that passed the Senate. The Senate passed a $2.3 billion, one-month budget with 37 Democratic votes, with Republican Senators either voting “present” or not
“We need fundamental budget reform, and that’s not what we got.”
State Sen. Karen McConnaughay R-St. Charles, on Senate Democrats passing a $2.3-billion, onemonth budget Wednesday
See BUDGET, page A9
Attorney general asks judge if payments OK sans state budget By JOHN O’CONNOR and SARA BURNETT The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ government weathered its second day without a state budget Thursday, and while legislative chambers were silent, service providers buckled up for a bumpy summer ride and state officials asked what bills could be paid if the impasse continues. The Democratic state attorney general asked Cook County Circuit Court for guidance on what the state could pay without a budget providing
for it, heating up a simmering debate with the Republican governor over whether state employees can be paid. Meanwhile, some service providers began notifying staff members of layoffs, while others hoped to hobble through the month. Here’s a look at the issues at hand:
Budget battle
Gov. Bruce Rauner has been steadfast in demanding changes to what he calls the state’s broken business and political climates before he’ll talk to legislative Democrats
LOCAL NEWS
about what they say is a $4 billion shortfall to pay for vital services. Democrats sent Rauner a $36 billion spending plan in June, but he vetoed most of it last week, calling it unconstituBruce Rauner tionally out of balance. Lawmakers attempted to approve a one-month, $2.3 billion budget this week, but the effort failed in the House. Wednesday was the start of
the new fiscal year.
Who’s hurting
From suicide hotlines to food pantries, social service agencies that rely on state funding will be hardest hit by the lack of a budget. Mujeres Latinas en Accion in Chicago provides services such as counseling for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Executive director Maria Pesqueira had to lay off five full-time employees this week and said the remaining 32 must take two furlough
LOCAL NEWS
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Vacancy on McHenry County bench makes for shifting judge assignments / A3 LOCAL NEWS
Thinking green pays off U.S. Agriculture Department awards Kolze’s Corner Gardens in Woodstock $10,000 grant for greenhouse curtain / A3
See PAYMENTS, page A9
July 4 fireworks shows McHenry County communities are planning celebrations throughout the holiday weekend / B1
AP photo
Comptroller Leslie Munger speaks at a news conference Thursday in Chicago, where she discussed her plan for managing state finances.
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