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CL teen center receives donation Philanthropists in area team up to contribute $48,500 to The Break By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – A nearly $50,000 donation by some of the area’s leading philanthropists will give a Crystal Lake teen center a little breathing room. The Break, which opened at its 6292 Route 14 location in June 2014 and has seen its membership grow to more
than 200 teens, has survived on the proceeds of founder and president Brenda Napholz’s Fast Finish Coaching business and its annual fundraisers, Napholz said. “We were getting to the point where going month to month was becoming difficult,” she said. “[The donation] was unbelievable, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”
The collective donation came from a group of area philanthropists, business leaders and friends led by Mike Luecht. They included Vince Foglia, Scott Brown, Dave Domek, Mike Domek, Charie Zanck, Chuck Ruth, Mike Curran and Tom Carey. “Being involved in the community and seeing the different resources available for young
people, the one thing that often gets overlooked is simply a sense of place for young people to go to,” Luecht said. “I believe every young person needs a place they can go to where they can have fun, not be judged and feel safe.” Admirers of the nonprofit credit Napholz and other adult volunteers’ hands-off philosophy that allows the teen mem-
bers to make The Break into whatever they want it to be with activities and programs they suggest and plan. The group plans on backing The Break moving forward, not just financially but in any way it needs, Luecht said. The focus right now is on growing the nonprofit’s board of directors to seven from five, Napholz said, something she
hopes will ease the burden on individual board members and lead to a greater convergence of gifts and talents. One of The Break’s annual fundraisers, an Oktoberfest celebration at Main Beach, is approaching in September, and Napholz hopes to raise enough funds from that and
See DONATION, page A4
Rauner’s County fair described as success staff paid by other agencies Departments covering about $4M in salaries By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press
Photos by Mike Greene for Shaw Media
Cliff Fandrich (left) of Ingleside gets hit by his girlfriend, Hannah Jackson of Woodstock, during the afternoon portion of the demolition derby Sunday at the McHenry County Fair in Woodstock. Jackson would go on to win the afternoon heat of the compact car competition.
President: Improvements, additions help increase attendance By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Eleven-yearold Ashtyn Martin pointed out a dairy cow Sunday at the McHenry County Fair, describing why the characteristics were winning. “If I were to be the judge, I’d say this one is good because she’s pretty much straight at the top of her back,” Martin said. “She just looks really good and strong.” It was moments before she actually did judge a group of four smaller cows, ranking them from one to four as part of the junior judging contest, a new program featured this year at the McHenry County Fair. The fair came to a close Sunday night, the final day consisting of livestock judging, family-friendly shows and the demolition derby, among other events. McHenry County Fair Board President Ken Bauman described the five-day event as a success, touting efforts to expand family-fun options and fairground appearance. “Attendance is up this year every day – I don’t know how yesterday or today are going to turn
Olivia Kipp, 6, of Grayslake prepares to make contact with a competitor Sunday during the afternoon portion of the demolition derby at the McHenry County Fair in Woodstock. out yet, but Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were all up [from last year],” he said. Bauman said Wednesday brought about 700 more people than the same day last year, Thursday attracted 2,100 more, and Friday was up about 3,000. “I think weather has a lot to do with it, and we’ve added a lot of new stuff,” he said. “A lot of family
entertainment, plus we’ve done a lot of beatification work out here to try to make it something that everybody would want to come to.” There also was an increase in vendors for food and drinks, plus new fencing and escalated landscaping efforts, Bauman added. The junior judging contests, such as the one Martin decided to enter, were one such addition that
Bauman said garnered attention this year. A chance for kids ages 8 to 19 to put their 4-H knowledge to use, the program became possible after a $1,200 donation from the Northeast Illinois Cattlemen’s Association. The donation allowed kids who chose winning livestock to be awarded small amounts of money. Meanwhile, a little ways across the roughly 70-acre fairgrounds, the Hay family, of Woodstock, was leaving their last stop of the day – the demolition derby. While Theresa and Ken Hay’s two young boys didn’t seem too fond of the smashing event, or the noise it produced, Theresa said they enjoyed seeing the animals and going on the fair rides. “We think it’s a pretty nice fair,” Ken Hay said. “Once the kids start seeing the rides getting set up, we can’t not come.” For Bauman, the local interest he saw this year was pleasing, especially as the fair faces budget cuts at the state level. “My hope has been that we can [offset] that by drawing the public here and being something the community’s proud to come to and be a part of,” he said.
Voice your opinion: How many times did you attend the McHenry County Fair? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner promised a leaner, more transparent administration than his predecessors, yet he’s rigorously following their time-honored practice of asking other departments to sign paychecks for his staff. Among employees doing significant work for Rauner, half their combined salaries – about $4 million – comes from separate agency budgets and isn’t listed on his office payroll, according to a review of documents by The Associated Press. That figure is about $1 million more than Rauner’s staff reGov. Bruce ported in June during Rauner a contentious hearing over use of the strategy before a House committee headed by Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat. It’s taxpayer money, either way. But opponents said the accounting maneuver, which they call “off-shoring,” can short-change some important state services while understating the true costs of running the chief executive’s shop. For example, they argue, if the Corrections Department has to pay a high salary for a gubernatorial aide, that’s money that can’t be used to pay one or more prison guards. Amid this summer’s budget impasse, Democratic lawmakers argued the Republican governor’s administration is squeezing essential state services, particularly by having high-priced consultants’ salaries paid by other agencies. The administration acknowledged that about $3 million in salaries for Rauner’s staff was paid by other agencies and provided lawmakers with lists showing his Democratic predecessor, Pat Quinn, annually “off-shored” even more – $3.5 million. Rauner aides, who continue to insist the office pays less in compensation than Quinn, were not counting key contractual agreements, such as a $250,000 salary for education adviser Beth Purvis paid by the Department of Human Services or a seven-month, $135,000 contract financed by the Department of Revenue for chief financial officer Donna Arduin.
See RAUNER, page A4
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