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Crystal Lake Central boys defend FVC Fox Division crown, beat crosstown rival Prairie Ridge / C1
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Voter forum hosted at MCC
D-300 OFFICIAL: RUNNING A ‘HIGH SCHOOL IS A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN ... AN ELEMENTARY DISTRICT’
Dems in congressional race outline priorities By EMILY K. COLEMAN
ecoleman@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Strengthening the Affordable Care Act, improving the economy and establishing a budget that looks long term were some of the priorities laid out by five Democrats vying for the chance to appear on the November ballot. The candidates for the 6th and 14th Congressional districts laid out their visions and answered voter questions over the course of an hour and a half at the first of five League of Women Voters forums, which took place Thursday evening at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake. The candidates included Amanda Howland and Robert Marshall in the 6th District and Jim Walz, John Hosta and Jesse Maggitt in the 14th District. The winners of the Democratic primaries will go on to face either incumbent Republican Rep. Peter Roskam or his challenger Gordon Kinzler for the 6th District seat, or incumbent Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren, who is running uncontested in the Republican primary, for the 14th District seat. Howland, the chairwoman of the College of Lake County and a civil rights and employment attorney, laid out her main issues as putting together a budget and priorities aimed at building the middle class by addressing income inequality, minimum wage and Social Security issues, and getting Congress to put together a budget and take a look at the tax code. Marshall, a doctor with St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee, proposed lowering the age people qualify for Medicare to 62 in an effort to ensure that those who often have difficulties finding jobs still have access to insurance. He pointed to campaign finance reform as his other priority, suggesting matching donations for
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Cafeteria employee Margaret Wesemann hands a sub to a student Tuesday at Huntley High School in Huntley. Huntley High School has a low cost-per-pupil ratio.
Per pupil cost varies by district On the Web
By ALLISON GOODRICH
agoodrich@shawmedia.com Across McHenry County, school districts have spent anywhere between $8,800 to $15,400 per student, the most recent Illinois Department of Education data show. The operational cost per pupil – including all costs to operate the district except items such as summer school, adult education, cap-
To view a comparison of operational cost per pupil in McHenry County districts, visit NWHerald.com. ital expenses and principal debt – is one of many financial indicators measured by the state. Cost per student is often dependent on the local tax base, and
from there it’s important to look at where that money is going and how effectively it’s being spent, school officials say, pointing to factors from employee salaries to student demographics to the implementation of certain efficiencies. “One thing to look at is ... to run a high school is a lot more expensive than having to run an elementary district,” said Sue Harkin, chief financial officer
School officials: Cost factors in demographics, location, more for Algonquin-based Community Unit School District 300. Of the four high school districts in the county, three did, in fact, land on the higher end of a list of all 19 area districts. Marengo Community High School District 154, Crystal Lakebased Community High School District 155 and Richmond-Burton Community High School
See DISTRICTS, page A8
See FORUM, page A7
Rauner supports Dem’s pension plan; both sides dispute details By SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press
CHICAGO – Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said Thursday that he would support a top Democrat’s proposal to tackle Illinois’ pension crisis, as long as it includes a union-weakening provision aimed at collective bargaining. The governor told reporters at his downtown Chicago office that he’d spoken to Senate President
John Cullerton and agreed to move forward with a plan that offers state workers a choice on reduced benefits. However, both sides quickly disputed the specifics of the proposal they discussed. Cullerton, who wasn’t at the news conference, said in a statement that he didn’t support Rauner’s position on collective bargaining. Rauner’s administration argued it was a “core” principle of Cullerton’s plan and lawyers on both sides had
NATION
Bruce Rauner
John Cullerton
agreed it was necessary to withstand a legal challenge. “We apparently still have a funda-
LOCAL NEWS
Serving people in need
Area church opens warming center for homeless in Woodstock’s old firehouse / A3 SPORTS
mental disagreement over the role of collective bargaining in this process, in the sense that I think collective bargaining should continue to exist and the governor does not,” Cullerton said in a statement. Since 2013, Cullerton has floated some version of a plan to let workers choose between keeping cost-ofliving increases in retirement and counting future raises when figuring retirement benefits. He’s said the choice makes the plan more likely to
pass constitutional muster. Last year the Illinois Supreme Court threw out another 2013 overhaul, saying it violated a constitutional clause that said benefits can’t be reduced. Rauner has supported such a “consideration” model before but said Thursday that he’d tweak it, ensuring that discussion of wage increases be removed from the collective bargaining process. In a
See PENSIONS, page A2
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Economists see silver lining in sinking oil crisis: Cheaper gas, heating oil giving consumers more money to spend later / B3
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Jacobs boys win in 11 weight classes to beat Dundee-Crown, seal FVC Valley dual title / C1
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