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Bleacher lawsuit costs mounting Documents: Crystal Lake has paid more than $225K in legal fees, more than District 155 By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
CRYSTAL LAKE – The lawsuit over the controversial bleachers at Crystal Lake South High School has cost the city of Crystal Lake more than $225,000 in legal fees, documents show. The price tag has been a lot
lower for Crystal Lake-based Community High School District 155, coming in at more than $70,000 after the insurance cooperative the district belongs to picked up the remaining tab of more than $310,000. The district’s attorneys also agreed to appeal the case to the Illinois Supreme Court pro bono.
Budget impasse growing deficit
The district’s attorneys hired public relations firm Jasculca Terman and Associates in September on behalf of the district to provide guidance on “public, parent and media communications regarding recent issues involving facilities and related litigation,” according to the contract.
The services cost the district about $13,000 between September and January, according to invoices obtained by the Northwest Herald through the Freedom of Information Act. The case dates back to August 2013, when the owners of two properties that back up to the Crystal Lake South foot-
ball field and the then-stillin-progess bleacher expansion sued the school district, arguing the district bypassed the city’s zoning process. Property owners asked the courts to stop the work. Since then, the case has wound its way through the court system – with the city of Crystal Lake added to the suit
as a counter-defendant and the school district ordered to go through the city’s zoning process even as the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The top court heard arguments in the case in May, and a decision could come as soon
See LAWSUIT, page A2
McHENRY COUNTY NURSING HOMES START TO FEEL EFFECTS OF AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Courts, mandates forcing Illinois to continue spending By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press CHICAGO – Illinois Republicans and Democrats alike wailed when the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved a state budget last year that was more than $1 billion out of balance. Then-gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner called the spending plan “phony,” while the party in power acknowledged it was “incomplete” and riddled with gimmicks. But the state now is on course to dig itself a far greater budget hole through either unwillingness or inability to act on the current fiscal year’s budget. One estimate puts the deficit at $5 billion, thanks to court- and statute-mandated spending already underway at levels that both sides say is unsustainable. Lawmakers say they’re not even sure how much money is going out the door. They agree the situation is leading Illinois – already billions in debt – to rack up more. They acknowledge balancing the budget gets more difficult with each passing day. Yet, like most everything else at the state Capitol these days, they’re split along party lines as to who’s to blame and how to fix it. The effect on residents and businesses is clear: There’ll be a “dramatic” increase in what the state eventually will have to raise in taxes, cut in spending – or both, said Laurence Msall, president of The
See BUDGET, page A7
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Medical Records Coordinator Kat Margason-Berman sorts through paperwork at her desk Friday at Hearthstone Manor in Woodstock. Under the Affordable Care Act, Hearthstone and other facilities must convert to electronic databases by Oct. 1.
Nursing home care changing Costs, readmission rates will determine long-term success for caregivers By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Hearthstone Communities “waited until the bitter end” to switch to electronic medical records. It wasn’t because the switch wouldn’t be good for patients, Director of Development and Public Relations Dick Hatten said. It was because the nonprofit struggled to come up with the $50,000 to buy the equipment and supplies, and to
BUSINESS
train staff to make the change. As more and more sections of the Affordable Care Act and other federal health care legislation take effect, the skilled nursing homes that largely have been unaffected by the overhaul are starting to see the impacts. The legislation, commonly referred to as Obamacare, attempts to shift the health care system to one focused on patient outcomes and the overall health of the larger community and away from one focused
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Debut novel Crystal Lake Central graduate, 19, turns homework into young adult novel / 4 LOCAL NEWS
Beer drinkers locally and nationally push sale of craft beers to historic levels / D1
Hundreds gleefully brave heat to slide down 1,075 feet of slick vinyl at Algonquin event / A3
nomically. As more accountable care organizations – which are voluntary groups of doctors, hospitals and other providers focused on providing a network of care – form and grow stronger, they establish lists of preferred nursing homes they give to patients, Banks said. Some nursing homes, likely the poor performers, won’t end up on that list and will see the number of patients
See NURSING HOMES, page A7
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on each individual visit and itemized care through the creation of accountable care organizations and the piloting of bundled payments. It’s these two items that could lead to one-third of nursing homes in Illinois closing their doors over the next five to 10 years, said Larry Banks, the director of operations for The Springs at Crystal Lake rehabilitation center. The ones that survive will do so by focusing on long-term acute care and rehabilitation, something they can do eco-
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