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New laws address severance deals Measures seek to end golden-parachute packages for public employees of DuPage President Robert Breuder and a $763,000 severance package that sparked a Two new laws taking effect voter revolt, previous controthis month seek to help put an versial buyouts at McHenry end to taxpayer-funded, gold- County College and Metra – a en-parachute severance pack- buyout borne of a scandal with ages for public employees. local roots – helped lead to the While the bills are inspired new laws. in great part by the scandal House Bill 303, signed into surrounding ousted College law earlier this month by Gov.
By KEVIN P. CRAVER
kcraver@shawmedia.com
Bruce Rauner, amends the Freedom of Information Act to forbid any severance agreement involving public funds from keeping amounts, allegations or details of the settlement confidential. House Bill 3593, aimed squarely at College of DuPage, limits community college severance agreements to one year’s salary and ben-
efits. It also limits nonunion employment contracts to three years, forbids automatic rollover or renewal, and requires public disclosure of the contract to be approved. Before Breuder’s severance made headlines and raised the ire of taxpayers and lawmakers, attempts to pass hushhush severance packages for
NO MORE EXCUSES
ousted leaders of MCC and Metra inspired strengthening FOIA to prevent them from happening again. State Sen. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry, attempted in 2013 to carry a bill similar to House Bill 303 in the wake of severance
See SEVERANCE, page A5
A special report
About this series “No More Excuses” is the Northwest Herald’s ongoing series about the public’s right to know in Illinois.
Casciaro released from Ill. prison
CHINESE FILMMAKERS INTERVIEW TROUT VALLEY RESIDENT FOR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Ole Sindberg, 81, poses for a portrait Sept. 14 at his home in Trout Valley. Sindberg was recently interviewed by a Chinese TV crew for the heroic efforts of his half-brother, Bernhard, in saving thousands of Chinese lives during the Rape of Nanking in 1937 and 1938.
Man tells of brother’s life-saving actions during Rape of Nanking By CAITLIN SWIECA cswieca@shawmedia.com TROUT VALLEY – Although Sonya Sindberg had heard her grandfather tell this same story of his half-brother over and over, she didn’t mind spending a September Saturday in his basement listening to it once again. This time, cameras were rolling as Ole Sindberg, 81, sat with his grandchildren, telling tales of his half-brother, Bernhard, and his life-saving actions in Nanking, China, during the brutal occupation by Japanese forces known as the Rape of Nanking in the late 1930s. “It’s hard to hear a story like that and have it not have a big impact on you because there’s so much that happened – so many wonderful things that happened, and so many horrible things that happened,” Sonya Sindberg said. Bernhard Sindberg, who died in 1983, is regarded as a hero by the Chinese government for sheltering thousands of innocent Chinese citizens in a Danish-owned cement factory throughout the worst of the massacre in 1937 and 1938. The Chinese government estimates 300,000 people died in the first six weeks of the occupation, and Sindberg may have saved as many as 20,000 lives, although estimates vary greatly. The story, which Sonya Sindberg said long has been a part of family lore, is being documented by a crew from the China Jiangsu Broadcasting Corp. The documentary will be part of a 10-part series dedicated to the heroes of that massacre.
‘‘
He pretty soon makes up his mind that, ‘Wow, maybe I can do something to protect these exposed individuals, because I’m in charge of this place here.’ ” Ole Sindberg, Trout Valley resident, speaking about his half-brother, Bernhard
Ming Liu, the director of the documentary, said Sindberg is one of the lesser-known heroes from the episode. To find out more about him, she reached out to Ole Sindberg, a native Dane and current Trout Valley resident. “The way they see it, I’m one of the very few people that had regular contact with my brother during his lifetime,” Ole said. “I’m of that same generation. It’s a bit of a stretch, because he’s 23 years older than me, but we do have the same father, so they came.” That contact didn’t actually start until Ole was an adult and he happened to cross paths with his brother when they were working in British Columbia, Canada, in 1962.
When they met for dinner in Vancouver and retreated to Ole’s hotel room, Bernhard told stories that lasted into the night, some of which Ole said sounded like “sailor’s yarn.” “After a while,” Ole said, “I just wanted to go to bed.” The two stayed in touch, and over time, Ole realized the stories were true. His half-brother made a number of stops after leaving Denmark as a teen – joining and deserting the French Foreign Legion, getting thrown into the brig of a ship traveling from the U.S. to China, selling motorcycles and machine guns – but his heroics began in 1937, when a Danish company put him in charge of a cement factory in Nanking, where civilians were being brutally murdered and abused by Japanese soldiers. “He pretty soon makes up his mind that, ‘Wow, maybe I can do something to protect these exposed individuals, because I’m in charge of this place here,’ ” Ole said. With the regular staff gone because of the hostilities, Bernhard invited civilians to the factory and painted a huge Danish flag on the roof. He maintained a good relationship with the Japanese soldiers in order to protect the factory and the Chinese citizens. While the Chinese government never recognized his efforts during his lifetime, they did send a delegation to Denmark in 2000 to search for him. Although he had died years earlier, the
See LIFE-SAVING, page A5
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Mario Casciaro walked out of prison Wednesday, two years after he was convicted of murdering Johnsburg teenager Brian Carrick. Casciaro, 32, was convicted of first-degree murder by intimidation in the disappearance of 17-year-old Carrick, who was last Mario was seen Dec. 20, Casciaro 2002, at the Johnsburg grocery store where he worked, which also was owned by Casciaro’s parents. A ruling Sept. 17 from the 2nd District Appellate Court overturned Casciaro’s conviction because it said evidence was so lacking and improbable that the state failed to prove Casciaro’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. An order from the same court granted Casciaro’s freedom. About 15 family members waited outside the Menard Correctional Center near St. Louis for Mario Casciaro to walk outside, his sister Joanne Casciaro said. Supporters wore T-shirts that read “free at last” and the backs said “no appeal; game over!” “We’re all on a bus, talking and laughing,” Joanne Casciaro said shortly after 1 p.m. After two jury trials, Casciaro was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Nov. 14, 2013. Officials contended that Casciaro ordered fellow grocery store employee Shane Lamb to intimidate Carrick into paying a drug debt. Lamb had previously testified that after he punched Carrick in the face and Carrick “fell down,” Casciaro told him to leave, which Lamb said he did. Carrick’s body was never found. Lamb later recanted the entire story in a signed affidavit and on a national news program about the case. He said prosecutors told him to lie. Lamb was convicted earlier this year on unrelated weapons charges and was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Combs has said officials plan to appeal the conviction reversal with the Illinois Supreme Court.
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