NWH-8-28-2014

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THIS WEEK: GLENBARD WE ST & WHEATO N WARRENVIL LE SOUTH

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THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY

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TIMELINE OF EVENTS

FIRST McCULLOM LAKE BRAIN CANCER PLAINTIFF GETS NEW TRIAL

LAWSUIT PROCEEDS Pending court actions against Rohm and Haas blame pollution for disease

Jan. 25, 2008: Modine Manufacturing, the smaller of the two defendants, agrees to settle out of court.

Sept. 20, 2010: Joanne Branham’s case goes to trial in Philadelphia state court.

Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com

A worker checks equipment Tuesday on the roof of the Rohm and Haas Chemical Manufacturing Co. building in Ringwood. For 17 years, Rohm and Haas workers dumped “toxic chemical waste that causes cancer” into a pit at the Ringwood-based plant, said Aaron Freiwald, who represents the family of Franklin Branham, in opening statements of a lawsuit over his death. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said Monday it would not hear Rohm and Haas Co.’s appeal of a decision reviving Branham v. Rohm and Haas. Rohm and Haas is now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co.

By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com After almost four years, the first of 33 plaintiffs in the McCullom Lake brain cancer lawsuits is getting a new trial against specialty chemical company Rohm and Haas. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the company’s appeal of an appellate court’s ruling overturning the 2011 dismissal of the lawsuit filed by Joanne Branham, who lost her husband to brain cancer a decade ago. The lawsuits filed since 2006 allege that decades of air and groundwater pollution from the company’s plant a mile to the north in neighboring Ringwood caused a cluster of brain and pituitary

About this series “Coincidence or Cluster?” is the Northwest Herald’s ongoing investigation of the McCullom Lake brain cancer lawsuits. tumors in McCullom Lake and a neighboring McHenry subdivision. Plaintiffs’ attorney Aaron Freiwald said he is eager after a long wait to get Joanne Branham and the other plaintiffs their day in

court. Both sides had just met with a judge to discuss expediting the schedule for the remaining cases. The cases are being heard in Pennsylvania because Rohm and Haas is based in Philadelphia. “It’s taken four years, but we finally have the right to have the Branham trial resumed, and we’re very excited about that. We’re looking forward to getting justice for the Branham family as well as the other McCullom Lake victims,” Freiwald said. The lawsuits allege that operations at the plant fouled residents’ air and groundwater with carcinogenic vinyl chloride. Rohm and Haas, now a subsidiary of Midland, Michigan, chemical giant Dow

See LAWSUIT, page A5

Bleacher battle fallout ongoing Lawsuit hearing could affect CL South home opener By JEFF ENGELHARDT

Michael Chmiel is set to rule on whether the residents’ request for the district to stop violating city zoning code will be granted.

jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – One last legal challenge will have to be tackled before the Crystal Lake South High School football team takes the field for its home opener Sept. 5. While Crystal Lake and Community High School District 155 have a mutual agreement to allow use of the Crystal Lake South stadium as the appellate court considers a legal challenge to the expanded bleacher structure, the residents who first brought the lawsuit have continued to push forward. Judge Michael Chmiel, who ruled in December that the school

PLANIT PLAY

Season send-off Bands, carnival and more close out summer at LITH fest / Inside

district should have gone through city zoning processes before constructing a $1.18 million bleacher expansion, is set to rule on the day of Crystal Lake South’s home opener as to whether the residents’ request for the district to stop violating city zoning code will be granted. Tom Burney, who represents the

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SPRING GROVE’S RICHARDSON FARM NEW SITE, BIG PLANS FOR HOME OF ‘WORLD’S LARGEST CORN MAZE’

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neighboring residents in the case, said Chmiel has a wide range of rulings he could deliver. Chmiel could rule in favor of the district and end the case or he could rule in favor of the residents and attach demands as extreme as making the district immediately reduce the size of the bleachers and cease activities at the site until it meets city code. Burney said Chmiel also could rule in favor of the residents and decide to give a general timetable for the district to enter the city zoning process without impeding any scheduled activities at the site. Another option could be a full jury

See BLEACHERS, page A5

LOCAL

Danielle Guerra file photo – dguerra@shawmedia.com

Former McCullom Lake resident Joanne Branham lost her husband, Franklin, to brain cancer in June 2004. Branham is one of 33 plaintiffs suing Rohm and Haas for causing their illnesses.

April 28, 2011: Tereshko officially dismisses the first case. Oct. 24, 2012: Tereshko resigns as the court’s civil chief after an appellate court chastised him for an ethical gaffe.

Aug. 25: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declines to hear the appeal.

April 25, 2006: Lawsuits are filed in Pennsylvania alleging that air and groundwater contamination from Ringwood manufacturers Rohm and Haas and Modine Manufacturing caused brain cancer. July 10, 2008: Dow Chemical announces that it is buying Rohm and Haas for $15.3 billion. Oct. 21, 2010: Five weeks into the trial, Judge Allan Tereshko abruptly ends it and dismisses the jury.

February 2012: Plaintiffs’ counsel decides to end the class-action lawsuit. Oct. 9, 2013: A Pa. appeals court overturns Tereshko’s dismissal of the case and grants Branham a new trial. Rohm and Haas files an appeal Jan. 21, 2014. to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Source: Northwest Herald archives

IDNR’s senior rate licenses unavailable until Oct. 1 By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com Chuck Lemker of Crystal Lake was looking forward to purchasing hunting and fishing licenses at a reduced price this month. He should have been able to starting Aug. 1 when Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law House Bill 4329, which allows Illinois’ senior residents to obtain hunting and fishing licenses at a reduced cost of $1, and various stamps for free. Much to the 81-year-old’s dismay, though, the reduced fee was not available when he tried a couple days after Aug. 1 to purchase a license online. “The bottom line is although the

STATE

Local elections Farm forum Packets now available for Crystal Lake candidates / A3

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FANTASY

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GOP’s Rauner broadens Ag Department patronage criticism / B2

bill was signed by the governor Aug. 1, we still don’t have an effective law,” Lemker said Tuesday. Although the law is in effect, the system is not yet ready, according to the Department of Natural Resources. “Changes to the system started back in late April, early May as soon as it became clear the bill would be passed,” spokesman Chris Young said. “However, there are an awful lot of systems that had to be reprogrammed and tested. … It’s just taking a while. Systems have to be checked, but it should be done by Oct. 1.”

See LICENSES, page A5

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