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Proposed bill tweaks meetings law Legislation comes in wake of questions over possible violations in Oakwood Hills By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com State Rep. David McSweeney has proposed legislation that would give another option for the Attorney General’s Office to look into possible violations of the Open Meetings Act. Currently, Illinois state law says if someone believes there is a violation of the Open Meetings Act, he needs to file
Former officer faces new charges
a request for review within 60 days of the alleged violation. The problem is that because of laws regarding when public bodies must disclose their closed session minutes, it’s difficult to suspect when a violation took place. McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, is proposing that if the alleged violation isn’t discovered within the initial 60-day period, someone can request for a review 60 days after the
discovery of the alleged violation. Government units have to review and potentially release closed-session minutes twice a year, which David m e a n s m i n - McSweeney utes aren’t always released within the 60day time period.
The bill comes after an attorney for those against a proposed 430-megawatt, $450 million power plant in Oakwood Hills discovered members of that Village Board had discussed the proposal in a closed session in July 2013, nearly a year before the plant proposal became public. “It’s clear there was a violation with the Open Meetings Act in this case,” McSweeney said.
Former Village President Melanie Funk denied doing anything wrong when she resigned from her position. Last year, the Attorney General’s Office had 387 requests to review possible violations to the Open Meetings Act. In 2012, it had 288 requests. Attorney General Communications Director Natalie Bauer said violations run the gamut. “Oftentimes, it has been in
the past, a public body wasn’t familiar with a certain portion of the statute,” Bauer said. “That’s why we instituted mandatory training.” If it is determined there was a violation of the Open Meetings Act, the public body might have to redo the meeting where the violation took place, have an injunction put against it to prevent future violations,
See LEGISLATION, page A7
CAREER CONSIDERATIONS Money plays role in picking majors, McHenry County counselors say
Denies allegations he sold drugs while with Hebron force By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A former Hebron police officer already facing weapons charges denied new allegations that he sold drugs while on duty. Ryszard T. Kopacz, 30, of Wauconda, was arraigned Monday on five additional counts of offiRyszard cial misconT. Kopacz duct. He pleaded not guilty before McHenry County Judge Gordon Graham. According to prosecutors and court documents, Kopacz, between February and June, had delivered marijuana to an unnamed informant while he was on duty and in uniform as a Hebron police officer. His attorney, Steven Goldman, declined to comment outside the courtroom, saying he wanted to look closer at discovery before speaking publicly about the cases. Kopacz previously denied allegations he stole guns from the evidence locker in Hebron. He was arrested on weapons and official misconduct charges in July, and was released on bond when a warrant was issued for the latest allegations. Kopacz was fired in June from Hebron for reasons unrelated to his criminal charges, officials there have said. He then was briefly hired by Richmond Police Department where he worked for about a week before being fired for failing to show up for work. The latest bill of indictment also accuses Kopacz of obtaining a hydrocodone pill from an elderly Richmond resident, again while on duty. Official misconduct is a Class 3 felony punishable by two to five years in prison. The most serious charge against Kopacz – aggravated possession of firearms – is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Kopacz remains free on $4,000 bond. His next court date is Oct. 7.
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Edward “Andy” Abraham (left), 21, of Cary talks with his counselor, Pat Zokal, at McHenry County College about his career options Sept. 4.
By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Jazmynn Flathau wants to use art as a therapy tool once she graduates from college. The 20-year-old McHenry resident is in her final semester at McHenry County College, and she wants a career that she’s passionate about. Sitting next to her at a table in an MCC hallway, 19-year-old Matt Cannizzo of Huntley also has a plan he’s passionate about, but his career path is probably more secure, he said. Cannizzo plans on transferring to Arizona State University once he’s wrapped up his second and final year at McHenry County College and majoring in economics and
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Voice your opinion How much did salary weigh in your college major decisions? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
finance. What students major in can have a huge impact on how much money they make after college, according to a Georgetown University study that looked at the incomes of graduates who did not go on to earn a degree higher than a bachelor’s. At the extreme, graduates with the highest earning major, petroleum engineering, earned 314 percent more at the median than the lowest earning major at the median, according to the Georgetown report. Other majors that didn’t trans-
late into big bucks included early childhood education, theology and religious vocations, human services, community organization and social work, while engineering, pharmaceutical sciences and administration brought in the largest earnings. The petroleum engineering major earned $120,000 at the median with 75 percent of holders earning at least $82,000, the report said. The top 25 percent earned at least $189,000. Those who majored in counseling psychology earned a median salary of $29,000 with the top 25 percent earning at least $42,000, the lowest the Georgetown report found. Money is figuring more into students’ choices than it used to, said Pat Zokal, a counselor at McHenry County College who has helped stu-
dents since 1980. There’s more of an emphasis on whether there will be a job in the end instead of what the students want to be when they grow up and who they are as individuals. One of the resources she provides her students is a series of hefty books the federal government and nonprofits put out each year cataloging different careers and their average salaries at a national and county level. The college’s career counseling center also is putting together a new section on its website that will provide resources on how to pick a major and what career options are available, Zokal said. The goal is to launch the section, which has been in the works for five years, this fall. “Some students – not most, but
See CAREERS, page A5
Some students – not most, but some students – just have this passion: ‘I must do this; I’ll scrape by because I have to do this.’ But most of them are more practical, want to support themselves, so they want that information.”
Pat Zokal, a counselor at McHenry County College
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