THURSDAY
July 9, 2015 • $ 1.00
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McHenry festival to feature KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, slew of entertainment / In Play
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NWHerald.com
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Meyer Material to seek extension Company plans to ask Cary Village Board for more time to complete lake project By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com CARY – Representatives of Meyer Material Co. said efforts to catch up on progress for the mining along Route 31 have fallen short and a request for more time likely will come to the village in the fall. On Tuesday, the company presented to the Cary Village Board its annual report of the project – the last one before
News to your phone Text the keyword NWHCARY to 74574 to sign up for CARY news text alerts from the Northwest Herald. Message and data rates apply. the mining operations deadline of June 1, 2016. The overall project is supposed to be done June 1, 2018, with a stipulation for a $100,000 penalty for each month it exceeds the deadlines.
“We don’t have enough time to make the lake as large as people desire,” said Randi Wille, manager of environmental and land services for Meyer Material. “We’re going to ask for an extension and offer more financial contribution in lieu of the penalty.” The company is hoping to extend the mining deadline to June 1, 2019, and the overall completion date to June 1, 2020 – a decision that would re-
quire a public hearing before the Board of Zoning, Planning and Appeals and approval from the Village Board. The project began in 2008, when the village permitted Meyer Material to expand its gravel pit beyond Algonquin borders into Cary with an ordinance granting a conditional use permit, subject to conditions and financial contributions. The site is expected to eventually consist of a
recreational area with a lake and a walking path, as well as restored commercial-use land in Cary. The project fell behind years before, which resulted in a previous 2011 request for more time. It was presented at a Board of Zoning, Planning and Appeals hearing, denied, and ultimately pulled before the issue reached the full board. At that time, Meyer Ma-
terial said the recession had taken a significant toll on its progress, with the company’s volumes taking 60 percent to 70 percent hits compared to pre-recession mining, Wille said. Still catching up from that time, Wille added Meyer has since encountered other issues, namely more overburden than expected – overburden is unmineable silt and
See MEYER, page A6
Gov. says he’ll trade taxes for reforms
McHENRY COUNTY LIBRARIES OFFER ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press
Photos by Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Annabelle Groves (left) and Kaylee Garrett, both 8 and from Woodstock, growl and snarl like dogs Monday as they tug tightly on strips of fabric being braided into dog chew toys during a Monday Madness event for children at the Woodstock Public Library. The toys made at the event will be donated to the Helping Paws Animal Shelter and the Woodstock Animal Hospital.
Preventing the ‘summer slide’ Reading programs keep children learning while school is out By HANNAH PROKOP hprokop@shawmedia.com After a few months with no school, students can be prone to what some educators call the “summer slide.” McHenry County libraries play a part in preventing the summer slide through summer reading programs, and Fox River Grove Memorial Library has taken it one step further by partnering with Learning Bird to provide digital lessons students can access from the library or home. “What happens over the summer is kids really lose two months of reading and math,” said Heather Belbin, teaching and learning innovator at Learning Bird. Belbin said students do not just “pause” their learning over summer break; “They’re actually hitting rewind,” she said. Learning Bird partnered with Fox River Grove Library at the start of its summer reading program in June, and it’s available for free for any library district
Young adult librarian Kate Tripp reads from a children’s book during an event for children Monday at the Woodstock Public Library. residents. Linda Stoppenbach, Fox River Grove Library director, said Learning Bird has video lessons that are tied with the school district’s curriculum. Lessons made by teachers provide multiple perspectives on a
subject and include topics ranging from math and science to literature, Belbin said. “It’s very nice because it allows kids to work at their own pace,” Stoppenbach said. “There’s a variety of lessons, and they’re all tailored to their learning style.”
Tim Mahaffy, superintendent of Fox River Grove School District 3, said, “Anytime you have time off from school, you’re going to have some type of regression unless you’ve kept up with [your] skill base.” The partnership with Learning Bird and the library will last at least through the 2015-16 school year, Belbin said. Mahaffy said the school district will let students know that Learning Bird is a resource available to them at the library. “The more skill development that they can get, the better,” Mahaffy said. Other libraries in the area have summer reading programs with themes, such as “Every Hero Has a Story” at the Woodstock Public Library and McHenry Public Library, and an animal theme at Huntley Area Public Library. At the Woodstock Public Library, the summer reading program incorporates activities
See READING, page A6
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Wrigley invite
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Jacobs’ Heiss picked for Under Armour All-America Game / C1
D-200 rejects proposals for artificial turf field at Woodstock High / A3
Computer glitch affects United Airlines, NYSE, WSJ.com / B3
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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday he is willing to raise taxes if the General Assembly agrees to his alterations of the Illinois legal and political landscape, but he nixed the idea of a stopgap funding plan before Democratic lawmakers even teed it up. The Republican made his most explicit promise on trading his agenda for a tax hike while speaking to reporters outside his state Capitol office. He announced what he called compromises on his plans to make the Prairie State friendlier to business and wring out the corruption of politics. Democrats were Bruce Rauner unimpressed. Neither they nor Rauner were on a path that seemed likely to converge soon. The 2016 fiscal year is more than a week old, and there’s still no authority for state government to pay bills. For months, Democrats have been behind a $36 billion spending plan they say covers “vital services” but which would outspend anticipated revenue by as much as $4 billion. They want more revenue, but Rauner said he won’t talk taxes until he gets approval for such changes as limiting liability lawsuit payouts and restricting compensation for injured workers to promote business investment and job creation. Rauner had a retort when reminded Wednesday that his opponents said those initiatives cut into Democrats’ “core beliefs.” “I don’t like taxes, period. I don’t want to ever raise taxes. I’m willing to do it as part of reform,” the conservative businessman said. “I’m willing to do something that goes against my core beliefs. I can ask the folks on the other side of the aisle to vote for some things they’d rather not vote for.” Later, the House Executive Committee readied for a Thursday floor vote a $2.3 billion short-term budget, allowing the state to get through July while talks continue. Rauner dismissed it as “a mistake” that just creates the Democrats’ “$4 billion deficit one month at a time.” The legislation’s sponsor, Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, rebuffed the notion,
See RAUNER, page A6
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