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FLOOD DAMAGE AWARENESS
By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – With 3,600 eggs coming out of the kitchen at Andy’s Restaurant in Crystal Lake weekly, co-owner Angie Angelos sees only one option to deal with the rising prices caused by the bird flu outbreak. She has to shell out more for eggs. About $1,800 more a month, Angelos said. And she’s not alone. From restaurant owners to grocery shoppers, people are spending more on eggs since the bird flu reportedly claimed 48 million chickens and turkeys this year. “We have to wait it out,” Angelos said. “It’s like a roller coaster. Eggs, meat, prices keep going up and down.” Voice your The U.S. Departopinion ment of Agriculture estimates that naWill the tionwide 48 million increased price of chickens and turkeys have been killed eggs affect how since December 2014 many you buy? to prevent the spread Vote online at NWHerald.com. of avian influenza. Agency officials said most of those birds, 31 million, are from Iowa, the country’s top egg producing state. There have been no reports of avian flu in Illinois. Egg prices will hit a record high in 2015, according to the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand report published in June. According to the report, the cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs for bulk buyers in New York will average $1.80 in the fourth quarter of this year, 18 cents more than it cost the same time last year. Large volume buyers in the Midwest are paying $1.89 a dozen on average, the USDA said. Officials caution the effects of the bird flu epidemic will linger, projecting a dozen eggs will cost an average $1.55 in the first months of 2016. For Angelos, the costs to buy eggs in bulk more than doubled to $2.56 a dozen at its peak a month ago, she said. Costs have gone down slightly, she said, but it’s still hurting her bottom line. Close to 70 percent of her business is breakfast, and many of those meals include eggs. She didn’t want to push the cost on to the customer by increasing prices, so the expensive eggs are
See EGGS, page A6
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Rich Green, service technician, checks the brakes June 23 while doing an inspection on a used car at Crystal Lake Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.
Car shopping after floods
National group offers tips to avoid water-logged vehicles By HANNAH PROKOP hprokop@shawmedia.com
W
hen buying used cars, local dealers and the National Insurance Crime Bureau agree that if it seems like too good of a deal, it probably is. Recent flooding in Texas has caused water damage to an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 vehicles, according to an estimate from Copart, a company that works for insurers to handle vehicles damaged in catastrophes. After disasters, companies like Copart will work with the National Insurance Crime Bureau to identify vehicles that have an insurance claim filed and process them for sale,
according to a release from the bureau. Cars will be re-titled, with indication there has been damage, and their vehicle identification number will be entered into national databases where people can check if the vehicle has a salvage title. Despite this process, it is possible that damaged cars may be “purchased at bargain prices, cleaned up, and then taken out of state where the VIN is switched and the car is re-titled with no indication it has been damaged,” according to the release. “If there’s flood damage in a car, some people can be really good at hiding that,” said Nick Faciano, new car sales manager at Crystal Lake Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, 5404 S. Route 31.
Faciano said reputable dealers probably won’t go looking for cars that come from auctions or from out of state, but checking CARFAX is the best first step to checking whether a used car has any damage. Dawn Narlock, customer service and sales representative at Frisch and Barrett Insurance Agency Inc., 226 W. Main St., Cary, said if an insurance claim wasn’t involved, information on whether a car had flood damaged may not be listed on CARFAX. She said how a flooded car is handled is up to the adjuster. Some cars can function after some flood damage, but if a car is submerged, chances are it will be totaled, Narlock said.
small dimples in the material.
Advice from Pauly Toyota’s Tim Hargrove: • Check for exposed metal that is rusted and any electrical damage. Pull back the carpet to see if wiring is corroding.
See FLOOD DAMAGE, page A6
Detecting flood damage Advice from National Insurance Crime Bureau: • Have a mechanic inspect the car. • Inspect for water stains, mildew, sand or silt in the carpet and fading in upholstery and door panels. • Check for mud or grit in any small crevices under the hood and in the spare tire compartment. • Make sure the speakers work. • Check the wheels to see if aluminum alloys are coated in a white power and show signs of pitting,
Advice from Crystal Lake Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram’s Nick Faciano: • Check for VIN numbers in multiple places in the car, like the door and window. Checking that numbers are the same can help customers know if any parts of the car have been replaced. • Check for a strong odor.
Advice from Douglass Automotive’s Doug McAllister: • Look for marks of water intrusion where it shouldn’t be, like under the hood.
Despite Illinois budget deadlock, options remain By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – What Illinois needs is for one of its political leaders to blink. But as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative Democrats stand eyeball-to-eyeball in negotiations over a new budget, neither is likely to submit, forcing the state to continue stumbling into the fiscal year that began July 1 without broad authority to spend. There are some actions that could end government shutdown fears, even if they don’t settle the issues separating the two sides. Rauner, a conservative business-
man, wants to change Illinois’ business and political climate to spur investment and create jobs. Democrats such as House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton want to ensure government continues to provide so- Michael cial services and other Madigan key operations for that same population, and are seeking revenue increases. Here’s a look at the immediate options:
Veto override
The General Assembly sent Raun-
er in June a $36 billion budget that had a revenue deficit of as much as $4 billion. But Democrats said they had to do it to protect “vital services.” Rauner won’t talk spending and new revenue with Democrats until they adopt aspects of his “turnJohn around agenda” which Cullerton would freeze property taxes, reform workers’ compensation, and implement term limits for state lawmakers, among other measures. Rauner received the budget in 20 separate pieces of legislation, signing just one to fund public elementary
and secondary education, and vetoing the rest. Of course, lawmakers get the last word. They have until July 15 to overturn the vetoes, but there has been little talk of override. That likely has a lot to do with the three-fifths majorities necessary – 71 “Yes” votes in the House, 36 in the Senate, which are a tall order. The 19 vetoed measures were approved in the House with an average of 65 votes in favor, and 32 votes in the House. Finding six House votes and four senators is a tough task in such tense times.
Temporary budget
In 1991, when newly minted GOP
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Gov. Jim Edgar came into office facing what was then a mind-boggling $1 billion deficit, Illinois entered the new fiscal year without a spending plan in place. There have been other long, frustrating summers since. But in those cases, such as 2004 and 2007, legislators adopted one-month, interim spending plans to keep government open while negotiations continued. Madigan attempted the same thing last week – a $2.3 billion package to pay the bills through July. But with four members of his caucus missing, the House version failed with 67 “Yes” votes – falling shy of the 71
See BUDGET, page A6
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