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August 7, 2014 • $1.00
DINNER AT THE THEATER McHenry High School West Campus hosts murder mystery dinner theater / Planit 12
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Mental Health Board touts recent reforms Staff reduced; administrative expenses predicted to shrink By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A leaner, more accountable and more responsive McHenry County Mental Health Board introduced itself Tuesday to the County Board. After a year of tumultuous change that critics argued was much needed and long overdue, a Mental Health Board made up of almost all Lyn Orphal new members McHenry is tackling re- County form and taking Mental Health it in the best Board interim d i r e c t i o n t o executive serve the men- director tally disabled, Interim Executive Director Lyn Orphal told County Board members. “[New members] are very Donna Kurtz interested in McHenry what the Mental County Board Health Board Public Health does, they’re and Human exceeding all Services expectations, a s k i n g q u e s - Committee tions, wanting chairwoman to learn things, wanting to be a participant,” Orphal said. The nine-member board is appointed by the County Board to distribute funds from a special property tax levy to agencies serving residents with mental or developmental disabilities. The Mental Health Board plans next year to disburse the same $8.4 million to local agencies that it is distributing for the current fiscal year, despite flagging tax revenues. This year’s disbursements included $798,000 for a number of new developmental disability programs. Board members are departing from past practice to take a more hands-on role in how county tax dollars are distrib-
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Elvin Daniel of Johnsburg poses for a portrait in front of a photograph of his sister, Zina Haughton, who was fatally shot along with two of her co-workers by her estranged husband in 2012. Daniel, a gun owner and NRA member, has since been advocating for background checks being required for all gun purchases.
Advocacy amid loss Sister’s death pushes Johnsburg man to urge expansion of firearm background checks By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com JOHNSBURG – Elvin Daniel is in it for the long haul. Daniel, a Johnsburg resident, testified last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on two bills designed to expand the range of firearm background checks, the third effort that he has promoted since his sister, Zina Haughton, was killed by her estranged husband. He doesn’t expect this one to succeed either. “We knew coming into it that it wasn’t going to be easy,” Daniel said. Haughton, 42, was shot
along with six others by her husband, Radcliffe Haughton, 45, at the salon and spa where she worked in Brookfield, Wisconsin, in October 2012. She was killed, along with two of her co-workers. Radcliffe Haughton later died of Zina a self-inflict- Haughton ed gunshot wound. Zina Haughton, a mother of two, had filed for divorce, and an order of protection against her husband had been granted after he slashed the tires of her car while she was at work. He was prohib-
ited under the restraining order to have a gun. But Radcliffe Haughton was able to obtain a gun from a private seller he found online. The shooting happened the next day. That’s why Daniel and his wife, Cheryl, have been advocating in the Wisconsin State Legislature and Congress for universal background checks, as well as some other measures, including expanded use of GPS monitoring, despite his status as a gun owner and National Rifle Association member. “In my own mind, I thought that just because I went through a background check, everybody had to
go through a background check, and then we started finding out about the loopholes,” he said. “I truly believe to this day that Zina may still be alive and with us today [if those loopholes had been closed].” Jane Farmer, the executive director of Woodstock-based Turning Point, sees firearms playing an increased role in domestic violence. “It’s not something that’s always used against his partner, but it’s something that he’ll lay on the table during an argument or he’ll wear as he’s moving around the room,” she said.
See FIREARMS, page A4
“In my own mind, I thought that just because I went through a background check, everybody had to go through a background check, and then we started finding out about the loopholes. I truly believe to this day that Zina may still be alive and with us today [if those loopholes had been closed].” Elvin Daniel, brother of Zina Haughton, who was shot and killed by her estranged husband in 2012
uted, Mental Health Board President Connee Meschini said. The 26 agencies that have applied for 2015 funding for more than 120 different programs will make their cases in a series of August and September meetings that will be open to the public. “This is totally different from how it’s been done in the past,” Meschini told County Board members. Funding has been able to stay the same in significant part because the board has trimmed an administrative budget that critics labeled excessive and a case of mission overreach. It has cut its staff size to about 14, down from 34 last fiscal year, and Meschini predicts that administrative expenses by the end of 2014 will shrink from 26 percent to 18 percent. County Board members who have wanted reform lauded the progress the Mental Health Board has made at the end of its half-hour presentation. Several agencies that receive funding later spoke in support of the Mental Health Board during public comment. “You’re moving things in a better direction than you have in the past, and I’m thankful for that,” said board member Michael Walkup, R-Crystal Lake. Donna Kurtz, chairwoman of the County Board Public Health and Human Services Committee, called the changes an appreciated “huge step forward.” Her committee is in charge of recommending appointments to the Mental Health Board, as well as reviewing its annual budget. “When we review your budget, we’re going to be looking at your approach at reducing your internal costs. We want to continue to see a thoughtful process of reducing your costs so you can increase the amount of money going out to the agencies seated here,” said Kurtz, R-Crystal Lake. A search for a permanent executive director is ongoing by the Mental Health Board.
Quinn officials refuse to explain hiring fix Administration says no final decisions have been made regarding reclassified jobs By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – When a good-government campaigner sued Gov. Pat Quinn in April over political hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation, the administration responded that it had already taken action by reviewing and reclassifying jobs, which wouldn’t be subject to political considerations in the future. But asked to explain what it did, the Quinn administration has refused to identify which jobs were redefined or
“Government agencies are not allowed to have secret rules or laws that they use to make decisions.” Matt Topic Government transparency lawyer with the Chicago firm of Loevy & Loevy how state officials determined whether anti-patronage rules applied – because it has made no final decisions. The administration’s rejection of a Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press, citing a clause in the law that protects preliminary deliberations, contradicts its earlier declaration
that it had reviewed job descriptions, reclassified posts, and fixed the political hiring practice after the release of a critical watchdog report last year. The IDOT employment issue is one of several nagging Quinn as the Democrat portrays himself as a lifelong government reformer amid a
stiff re-election battle against Republican businessman Bruce Rauner. Quinn said he has ended the clout-stained hiring practices of his predecessors and made government openness a hallmark of his administration, but Rauner and other critics question his commitment to it. The FOIA denial contradicts the administration’s assertion that it fixed the problem in the spring. The administration also is refusing to disclose the guidelines the government has used for
See JOBS, page A4
AP photo
Gov. Pat Quinn, surrounded by workers, speaks July 22 during a signing ceremony in Chicago for an approximately $1 billion capital spending plan intended to create jobs and help repair Illinois roads and bridges after a harsh winter.
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