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TASTY RECIPES WITH TOMATOES Ingredients fresh from the farmers market make these tomato dishes a treat / D1
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Group to meet with Marengo about marijuana Approached officials about medicinal cultivation center By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
Photos by 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 during an open house July 22 in Crystal Lake. Oakwood Hills hosted a zoning hearing on the project July 24 at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn.
No threats on officials Oakwood Hills documents confirm no menacing statements were made to any village employees By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com OAKWOOD HILLS – Oakwood Hills officials confirmed Tuesday there is no documentation from local authorities relating to threats against village officials. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking police reports documenting any physical, verbal or other kind of threat to any village official, board member or employee between July 1 and Aug. 1, village FOIA officer Cheryl LoSasso said no documentation existed. While village employees were in the office to respond to FOIA requests, LoSasso said in her response Village Hall was still closed to the public. Village business has been suspended for more than a week after Oakwood Hills president Melanie Funk said board members received threats. McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi said because of office policy, he could not comment on wheth-
Don Kroll of Oakwood Hills wears a T-shirt opposing the Oakwood Hills power plant project during an open house July 22.
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The Island Lake Village Board will vote Thursday evening on a resolution opposing the Oakwood Hills power plant project, see page A3.
er there is an investigation into threats made toward Oakwood Hills officials. The suspension came as the village was in the process of considering a proposal for
a $450 million plant, which has drawn hundreds of protesters at public hearings. Opponents are concerned the 430-megawatt, natural gas plant would create a wa-
ter shortage, pollution and decrease in property values, among other worries. Protesters have organized and hired attorney and former McHenry mayor Steven Cuda to push back against the efforts to bring in a power plant. Cuda, who had filed FOIA requests July 31, said he received a response Tuesday, as well. Cuda said he would review the documents with his clients before deciding the next step. Mike Riley, who has lived in Oakwood Hills for 34 years, said the lack of documented evidence of threats made to village officials is another example of the secrecy and mistruths he feels the village has operated in during the process of considering the plant. He said the more people who research the subject, the worse it seems. “They can’t substantiate these things and I think they just wanted to get the heat
See THREATS, page A4
MARENGO – An undisclosed business group recently approached Marengo officials about growing medical marijuana, making the city the only known area location targeted for a cultivation center. City administrators now plan to have representatives of the group meet and outline a proposal to City Council members within the month, after aldermen Monday said they wanted to explore the idea of a medical marijuana cultivation center in Marengo. “I would like to learn more about it,” Mayor Don Lockhart said. “I would like to at least have a presentation to the council to see what this really is projected to be.” Marengo officials already have a rough sense of the parameters, but they aren’t disclosing the business group involved. The group has pitched a 25,000-squarefoot cultivation center built either in city limits or near the city, meaning aldermen could have to annex the land into Marengo. City Administrator Gary Boden said the individuals who approached him late last week are legitimate based on his own research, adding that the group is looking to become a corporation. “This is economic development, and the bottom line is I have to be cognizant of their confidentiality” Boden said. If the group ultimately pursues Marengo, it could position the city as one of the few in the state to land a cultivation center that would supply marijuana to people suffering from various chronic conditions, including HIV, AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis. A new state law allows for only 22 cultivation centers – one per Illinois State Police district – to grow marijuana and provide products to the 60 licensed dispensaries also scattered
More inside Woodstock City Council officials are open to public input on a developer’s interest in putting a medical marijuana dispensary in the town, see page A3.
“I would like to learn more about it. I would like to at least have a presentation to the council to see what this really is projected to be.” Don Lockhart Marengo mayor throughout the state. Marengo could be facing unknown competition from areas within its police district, which covers DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties. State officials announced this week that the formal application window for dispensaries and cultivators will likely last from Sept. 8 to Sept. 22. Cultivation applicants will be weighted based on their cultivation and security plans. Applicants also would have to show whether their site meets a city’s zoning regulations, if they have applied for local zoning approval, or detail if a city doesn’t have the appropriate zoning in place at their proposed site. Addressing aldermen Monday, Boden said the council would likely have to approve a special-use permit within their zoning codes before the business group can proceed with their state application. Other zoning requirements in the state law prohibit any cultivation center from being located within 2,500 feet of any school, daycare facility and residential areas. A center also cannot be located within 1,000 feet of another cultivation facility or dispensary.
Treasurer race heats up over mismanagement, patronage accusations Failed Early Retirement Initiative program targeted by GOP campaign By KERRY LESTER The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Republican candidate for treasurer Tom Cross’ campaign accused his Democratic opponent Tuesday of financial mismanagement and political patronage, stirring controversy in the race for a typically overlooked statewide office. At a string of stops around
central Illinois, Cross’ campaign detailed the demise of an early retirement buyout program proposed in 2003 by Mike Frerichs, then a newly appointed auditor for Champaign County. Frerichs pitched the program as a good tool to deal with budgetary problems for the county board. But the Early Retirement Initiative program failed to achieve savings, and instead
caused the county’s unfunded liability to increase by more than $2 million, and increased the county’s annual contribution to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Champaign County later had $2.75 million in bonds issued to pay off the funding shortfall and Frerichs was replaced as the county agent who dealt with the retirement fund. Cross also accused Frerichs of improperly pushing the county to hire two local Democrats – one of them his former campaign manager – who were ill equipped for
the positions. Cross, a state representative from Oswego and former House Republican leader, was represented by supporters at the events by former federal State Rep. prosecutor and Tom Cross past Illinois GOP Chair Pat Republican B r a d y a n d a candidate former Cham- for state paign County treasurer clerk. Brady called the allegations “two critical issues” in
state Sen. Michael Frerichs “abilities required for the office and his judgment.” Frerichs, of Champaign, issued a written statement to The Associated Press confirmState Sen. ing basic facts Michael behind the alleFrerichs gations but deDemocratic nying wrongcandidate for doing. treasurer Instead, he decried the Cross attack as “revisionist history.”
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“Tom Cross’ media tour highlights exactly what is wrong with his run for treasurer: loose with the facts and worried more about running against his opponent than running with a vision for the office,” Zach Koutsky, Frerichs’ campaign manager said. Frerichs blamed the retirement program losses on market forces and decisions made by county leaders. Tuesday, Koutsky noted the county board changed its management of the program
See TREASURER, page A4
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