MAKING THE CUT
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THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
Illinois AG asks village to open
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84 68 Complete forecast on page A12
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DUI DATA DISPARITY As most localities’ arrests drop, Bull Valley’s soar suspensions jumped from 62 in 2012, to 155 last year. In contrast, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office filed 127, Crystal Lake filed 98 and McHenry filed 63. Countywide, there were 1,027 summary suspensions filed last year, according to data from the Clerk’s Office. A summary suspension is the civil process of suspending someone’s driver’s license after they’ve been pulled over for a suspected DUI. The majority of DUI arrests are followed by a summary suspension. The length of the suspension is based on a person’s prior history of driving under the influence, and whether or not they submit to or refuse a breath test or blood draw. For example, an individual stopped for a first-time DUI who does not submit to a breath test at the police station could lose his license for up to a year. It’s a six-month suspension if they do submit, although DUIs without a breath test result are harder to prove at trial, defense attorneys said. Geographically speaking, an uptick in Bull Valley makes sense. Its city limits butt up to Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Wonder Lake and McHenry. So in essence, the vast majority of those driving drunk in Bull Valley don’t live there and are driving through. “We’re right in the center of all the bars,” Page said. Page says under his direction, and with backing from the Village Board, the Bull Valley Police Department shifted its focus from a notorious speed trap to increasing its DUI enforcement. “There’s nothing unfair about targeting drunk drivers because they’re the ones who would kill your family,” he said in an interview with the Northwest Herald. “The biggest deal
By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
Oakwood Hills offices closed to public on Aug. 2
BULL VALLEY – There’s a perfect storm brewing in Bull Valley. Geography, diverted resources, and low call volume have allowed the village’s police department to write more DUIs last year than any other McHenry County department. A department with 12 officers – three full time and nine part time – for a roughly 9-square-mile village with 1,077 residents. A town with no taverns, no restaurants, and liquor licenses at its only businesses: two golf courses. The uptick for Bull Valley came at a time when other larger municipalities have been posting significant declines in DUI arrests. So what exactly is happening in the tiny village? Timing wise, the uptick began in 2013 when Police Cmdr. Jim Page took over after former Police Chief Norbert Sauers died. That year, according to data provided to the Northwest Herald by the McHenry County Circuit Clerk – summary
By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com OAKWOOD HILLS – The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has asked the village of Oakwood Hills to resume business “as soon as possible” following an investigation request from state Rep. David McSweeney and state Sen. Dan Duffy. In a letter dated Aug. 22, Chief Deputy Attorney General Brent Stratton told Oakwood Hills officials that while the office has no opinion on the zoning process of a proposed $450 million power plant or on the seriousness of any threats, the village should resume business with the public. In the letter, Stratton wrote the controversy regarding the proposed power plant relates to the zoning process and not ordinary village business. “Even if members of the public continue to express their opposition to the proposed power plant, the village offices themselves could and should be open so that the public can conduct whatever business they have with the village,” he wrote. McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, applauded the attorney general’s office for its stance and implored the village to open Monday instead of the reported Sept. 2 date that was given to the attorney general by village officials. “It’s time for the village office to open,” McSweeney said. “There is a group of people who are concerned about what’s going on in their community.” McSweeney and Duffy, R-Lake Barrington, requested the Illinois Attorney General investigate Oakwood Hills on Aug. 14 after learning there were no documented threats.
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Photo illustration by Kristina Peters – kpeters@shawmedia.com
See DUI, page A4
SUMMARY SUSPENSION CASES FILED IN McHENRY COUNTY A summary suspension is the civil process of suspending someone’s driver’s license after they’ve been pulled over for a suspected DUI. Majority of DUIs arrests are followed by a summary suspension. Bull Valley filed more summary suspensions than any McHenry County police department in 2013.
Source: McHenry County Circuit Clerk
AREA
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Total
Bull Valley
0
5
62
155
55
277
Crystal Lake
112
100
121
98
59
490
McHenry
118
100
84
63
24
389
McHenry County Sheriff
161
161
135
127
74
658
Woodstock
48
80
67
77
45
317
See OAKWOOD HILLS, page A4
Cary Matters says village violated Ill. Open Meetings Act By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com CARY – The group that has campaigned against the proposed Pedcor Investments apartment complex at First and Pearl streets in Cary is alleging an Open Meetings Act violation by the Cary Village Board. Jim Cosler, who serves as chair-
man of the Cary Matters Political Action Committee, wrote to the attorney general’s office that his requests for a larger venue for the July 1 and July 15 board meetings were denied by the village. “I allege that both of these meetings violated the [Open Meetings Act] as Village President Mark Kownick, Village Administrator Chris
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Clark, and several trustees were all informed of the need of a larger venue and disregarded the citizens in an attempt to silence critics,” Cosler wrote. The attorney general’s office has determined that further inquiry is warranted. At the July 15 meeting, the Village Board had a vote on whether
to rescind an ordinance allowing Pedcor to build the 60-unit, low-rise apartment complex, which would offer affordable lower rents. The vote failed. The Open Meetings Act requires all public meetings be held at specified times and places that are convenient and open to the public. In the letter, Cosler wrote addi-
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tional police were assigned to the meetings for crowd control, and said they directed people out of the adjacent hallway and stairwells. He added that Trustee Karen Lukasik, who was opposed to the project, asked for a larger venue, but her request was
See CARY, page A4
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