Hi-Liter Illinois 12/28/2022

Pink Champagne

Mocktail

2 quarts ginger ale

46 oz. bottle cranberry juice 46 oz. can pineapple juice 12 oz can frozen orange juice Ice cubes 1. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. 2. Stir in ice.

cup orange juice 1/3 cup milk 1 tablespoon honey 1/3 cup frozen strawberries, thawed 1/3 cup frozen raspberries, thawed 2/3 cup frozen blueberries, thawed 3 cubes of ice 1. Place everything in a blender. 2. Blend until slushy.

Alcohol-Free

Strawberry Daiquiri

2 large strawberries, hulled 1/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup lemon-lime soda 1 tablespoon lemon juice 4 ice cubes 1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. 2. Blend until smooth.

Mojitos

2 cups water 1 & 1/2 cup sugar 2 cups chopped mint leaves 2 cups lime sherbet 1 cup lime juice 8 cups club soda

1. Heat water & sugar in microwave for 5 minutes. 2. Stir in mint. 3. Let stand for 5 minutes. 4. Strain. 5. Stir in lime juice and sherbet. 6. Add club soda and stir.

Arnold Palmer

5 fl. oz. lemonade 5 fl. oz. iced tea 1 cup of ice 1. Combine all ingredients. 2 Blend well.

‘Tree of life’ honors emergency dispatchers

McHenry Community High School’s graphics department recently installed a new “tree of life” display at the McHenry Police Department to honor the life-saving work of regional emergency dispatchers.

The display, which takes up an entire wall, came out of a partnership between McHenry’s Northeast Regional Communications Center (NERCOM) in McHenry and the high school’s Warriors Ink printing and graphics department. Each leaf will represent a life saved due to a dispatcher’s actions.

Junior Mollie Hobson said she’s been working on the project since September. After several meetings with NERCOM officials, a black tree with leaves was the design selected.

The tree was then printed on Jessup’s TEXWALK Canvas. Based in McHenry, Jessup is a global manufacturing company specializing in adhesive coated films.

“We cut out the entire tree by hand, which was a difficult and meticulous task, as we had to cut around each leaf and branch individually,” Hobson said, adding that it took about an hour for Hobson and teacher, Matt Connor, to install at the McHenry Police Department.

Connor said this was a great project for Hobson to showcase her design skills and have the opportunity to work collaboratively with other students, as well. He said the design is especially nice up close when you can see the shading and depth.

“The best part of this project was my students learning a little more about what goes into saving a life and why someone would get to put up a leaf on this tree,” Connor said. “That, to me, is really special and I’m glad we got to be a little part of this.”

Jenny Synek, communications center supervisor, said the idea to honor dispatchers for life-saving actions has been

one they’ve talked about for a while. A police officer typically gets a pin as a symbol of a life saved.

Each person honored will have their name added to a leaf. The first addition will likely be to honor the dispatcher who gave CPR instructions to bystanders when a Woodstock postal worker had a sudden heart attack in August.

Synek wanted to work with the high school to design and make the tree of life since she has worked with Warriors Ink

in the past for signs and banners. Synek said it was nice working with Hobson since she has known Hobson’s parents for years. “This is the circle of life,” Synek said.

NERCOM, housed at the McHenry Police Department, dispatches police and fire for 16 different agencies in McHenry County, including Cary, Woodstock and Harvard. In 2021, NERCOM answered 41,445 emergency 911 calls and 79,842 non-emergency phone calls.

With labor dispute settled, railroads focus on service

By Daniel Grant FARMWEEK

It’s not necessarily back to business as usual for the nation’s railroad industry now that the threat of a nationwide strike has been averted for a second time.

Industry representatives, who met with members of the National Grain and Feed Association at the Country Elevator Conference and Trade Show held fittingly at Union Station in St. Louis, say the focus now is to build crew numbers and improve overall rail service.

“Ultimately, it’s best for the overall economy. It was a compromise that takes into consideration both parties’ side to the story,” said James Wilson, director of marketing for Norfolk Southern Corp. “Hopefully everybody can come to grips with it, put it behind us and go to work.”

President Joe Biden signed into law a measure forcing 12 rail labor unions to adopt an agreement with rail companies earlier this month, ending the threat of a strike.

The labor dispute, along with shortages of crew members in some areas, contributed to rail service issues much of this year. A lack of timely grain shipments became problematic for the elevator industry during harvest and was exacerbated by low water levels on the Mississippi River system, which simultaneously snarled barge traffic.

“We’re manpower constrained in terms of moving product,” Wilson said. “Our service was not where we wanted it to be. It goes back to train crews available to move the product.”

Rick Paterson, managing director of Loop Capital Markets in New York, reported recent “on-time” rates of 88 percent for CSX, 89 percent for Kansas City Southern, the mid-70 percent range for grain movements in October for Canadian Pacific, 65 percent for Union Pacific and 60 percent for BNSF’s grain network.

Only Canadian National has posted on-time rates near 100 percent since July. Norfolk Southern doesn’t report such rates.

Overall, there have been 13 meltdowns in the North American rail industry since 2014, according to Paterson. He defined

a meltdown as a situation in which a railroad runs out of crew or locomotives at a critical location, which reduces speed and compresses capacity.

Operations of a rail network generally slow about 20 percent during a meltdown.

“The common denominator of meltdowns has been crew shortages,” Paterson said.

He believes the railroad industry must come up with a better system to manage crew capacity and it needs to implement service reform and not just service recovery.

And that’s just what some are doing.

“We’ve aggressively gone out and hired and continue to hire,” Wilson said of Norfolk Southern. “We feel our network is actually running pretty well right now. We feel pretty confident how we’ve been performing.”

The company has a target of surpassing 7,500 train engine employees.

“Hopefully recessionary and inflationary issues subside and don’t impact our ability to hit our forecast,” Wilson added. “We appreciate the patience (from rail customers) continuing to work with us as we went through labor issues and service issues.”

Down the road, the rail industry is also looking at automation and technology to help deal with labor constraints.

Jim Gales, of Gales Design and Consulting, outlined the development of a “manless rail terminal” for grain elevators at the conference.

“This stuff is doable,” said Gales, who noted an automated grain terminal is in use in a controlled environment. “The technology is out there.”

Elsewhere, LEADER AutoPilot, technology that automatically controls trains, was designed for railroads to improve operations.

An automatic test run, with no human intervention, was successfully carried out with a heavy haul cargo train on a 48-mile test track in Colorado.

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

MCRide Dial-A-Ride hours expanding

McHenry County, in partnership with Pace Suburban Bus, will be expanding the hours of the MCRide dial-aride services through 2023.

Starting Jan. 1, MCRide will be available from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The base fare remains $1.50 for seniors or people with disabilities and $3 for all other riders; a 25-centper-mile charge is issued after the first five miles. Up to two children ages 7 or younger can travel for free with a fee-paying adult rider. MCRide is not in service on major holidays.

The service expansion is made possible by a one-time allocation of $200,000 from Pace, with a McHenry County match.

MCRide is available to anyone, regardless of age, ability, trip purpose or residency. All MCRide buses are fully wheelchair accessible. MCRide is funded by federal transit grants administered by the Regional Transportation Authority.

To schedule a ride, users can call the Pace Call Center at 800-451-4599. The general public can reserve a ride up to two days in advance. Seniors age 60 and over, and individuals with disabilities, can reserve a ride up to seven days in advance. A minimum of two hours is required to reserve a ride.

For more information visit the MCRide page online at https://www.mchenrycountyil.

gov/county-government/departments-j-z/transportation/ transit-services/mcride-dial-aride

You can follow the Division of Transportation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ McHenryCountyDOT to stay abreast of construction projects on county highways.

The MCDOT has started work on McHenry County Moves 2050, a long-range transportation plan to examine the ways that people and goods move in our area, and develop solutions that will make it easier for everyone, and everything, to get where they need to go. Visit www.mchenrycountymoves2050.com to learn more about it.

Quilts on display Jan. 5-21

Historic quilts from the collection of the McHenry County Historical Society will be on display Jan. 5-31, 2023, in the Woodstock Opera House Community. The quilts date from the 1870s to the 1940s, and highlight a variety of patterns from the Society’s collection of more than 160 quilts.

One of the quilts featured is a crazy quilt made in the 1880s by Jennie Schryver of Woodstock. Jennie, a daughter of Robert and Catherine Schryver,

was born in Woodstock in 1857. Her father was a Woodstock carpenter. The crazy quilt was a popular pattern from 1880 to the early 1900s. These quilts were usually made using velvet, silk, and brocade fabric. Using silk thread, women placed lovely decorative stitches on each seam.

Although crazy style quilts may appear haphazard, they were carefully planned. Hours were spent cutting shapes and trying out various arrangements of the pieces before

sewing. Quilts made in the crazy style were made for show than function. They often were made as smaller “lap robes,” used to decorate the parlor.

This particular crazy quilt from the McHenry County Historical Society’s collection also features a log cabin pattern on its border. Log cabin quilts became popular in the United States during the Civil War. The pattern was associated with the pioneer spirit and perhaps the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Tradition-

al blocks were hand pieced using strips of fabrics around a central square. A red center symbolized the hearth of home. There are many other variations of log cabin quilts including courthouse steps, pineapples, and barn raising.

The quilt display is free for public viewing during regular box office hours at the Woodstock Opera House: Tuesday -Saturday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon4 p.m. Call 815-923-2267 for more information.

Comcast donates laptops to help job seekers

A gift of 20 laptop computers from Comcast will help disadvantaged McHenry County residents pursue new jobs and career education opportunities.

Comcast is donating the laptops to the McHenry County Workforce Network and its partner social service agencies Last Chance House, New Directions Addiction Recovery Services, Refuge for Women, and Wish House.

“This generous donation will help people facing barriers in their lives who wish to find better employment and access the job training they need,” County Board Chairman Mike Buehler, R-Crys-

tal Lake, said. “Thank you to Comcast for giving these people a much-welcome helping hand.”

The donation is part of Project UP, Comcast’s 10year, $1 billion initiative to advance digital equity. One of Project UP’s centerpieces is Internet Essentials, a low-cost internet adoption program for eligible low-income households, which has helped more than 1.6 million people in Illinois connect to the internet at home since it launched in 2011.

“Comcast has been focused on digital equity and closing the digital divide in McHenry County and other locations

in its footprint for more than a decade,” said Joan Sage, Comcast Local Government Relations Manager. “Access to the internet and the laptops will help recipients build digital skills, access important services and prepare for the workforce.”

Comcast reached out to County Administration and the United Way of Greater McHenry County, who in turn connected them with the McHenry County Workforce Network to move forward with donating laptops to help people in need. The Workforce Network offers free services to employers and job seekers needing assistance in

meeting the challenges of today’s job market.

“We partnered with these local agencies because many of their clients are also our clients – people needing work or job training – and we wanted to broaden our reach into the community,” Workforce Network Director Jeffrey Poynter said. “I want to thank County Administrator Peter Austin and United Way President and CEO Jamie Maravich for putting us in contact with Comcast to make these laptops available to our job seekers. This gift will go a long way to help individuals with their education and job search needs.”

From left to right: Comcast External Affairs Manager Gwendolyn McNutt; New Directions Executive Director Bobby Gattone; Refuge for Women Executive Director Meredith Hodge; Comcast Local Government Relations Manager Joan Sage; Wish House Manager Sue Burns; Last Chance House Board Member Bob Langelund; and McHenry County Workforce Network Director Jeffery Poynter.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Hi-Liter/MCN

The crazy quilt with log cabin border, circa 1880s, is one of the historic quilts that will be on display from Jan. 5-21 at the Woodstock Opera House.

First annual Deflection/Diversion Summit held

In early December, over 100 law enforcement leaders, clinicians, prosecutors, researchers, and community leaders attended the first annual Lake County Deflection/Diversion Summit hosted by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, the Lake County Opioid Initiative, and the MacArthur Foundation. The summit focused on the research that shows preventive programs (called “deflection” and “diversion” separately) reduce crime and reduce drug overdoses.

The event was opened by Chair of the Lake County Opioid Initiative, Chelsea LaLiberte, who focused on the success of a local program named “A Way Out” that connects individuals with treatment options after they have initial police contact. A Way Out was started in 2017, and the research has shown that the program has saved hundreds of lives in Lake County. LaLiberte urged law enforcement leaders to join the program so that more individuals can be served – not only those in the 15 communities that are currently enrolled.

Lake County State’s Attorney Rinehart also welcomed participants and focused on the power of diversion within the courthouse. Rinehart stated that felony diversion participants had almost doubled since 2020 for non-violent offenders, but that the program needs to be “vastly” scaled up within the courthouse.

Rinehart stated after the summit that racial disparities that existed in the diversion programs prior to 2020 had been eliminated. Rinehart encouraged all participants to visit the State’s Attorney’s dashboard that included diversion statistics.

Expert Jac Charlier presented national statistics that demonstrated how mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and expanded housing options prevent crime and decrease incarceration costs. Charlier encouraged leaders to invest in prevention programs and community engagement so that crime can be reduced “up-stream.”

Researchers Melissa Lab-

riola and Jirka Taylor from the RAND Corporation and Jessica Reichert from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority presented data demonstrating that A Way Out was saving lives compared to counties that did not have similar deflection programs.

Sheriff John D. Idleburg said, “The collaboration which exists between the stakeholders in Lake County to provide help for those in mental crisis or living with substance abuse disorder is incredible.

Sheriff’s deputies and patrol officers from our partner agencies in the Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) interacted with over 1,300 people in mental distress this year. COAST has been able to offer or provide services to 72% of those individuals, which has proven to be extremely successful. We, and our municipal partners, look forward to continuing this partnership, making COAST as robust and helpful of a program as possible.”

“Our police leaders are right. These programs are critical to preventing crime. We need to make sure these diversion opportunities reach all communities separate from financial background or demographics,” State’s Attorney Rinehart said.

Zion Police Chief Eric Barden stated, “I am very happy to be a part of such important discussions highlighting the challenges the community is facing. As an agency, we are always looking to improve upon ways that we can help members of our community and it is important to be involved with solutions outside of enforcement to truly benefit the community.”

In addition, the event included a panel discussion by other program leaders in Lake County: Mental Health Deflection – Living Room Wellness Center (Sandra Bankston), Substance Abuse Disorder Deflection – A Way Out (Alicia Koh, Alex Seidelman), Harm Reduction & Drug Deflection – Live 4 Lali (Luis Aponte), Juvenile Domestic Violence Diversion – Step-Up (Karen Levi, Lake County State’s Attorney’s

Office), Felony Diversion –Alternative Prosecution Program (Hon. Judge Christen Bishop, Kevin Malia), and Teen Court & Retail Theft Diversion – Bruce Johnson, NICASA.

Elected leaders attended to offer their support and to learn from the research including U.S. Congressman Brad

Schneider, Illinois State Representative Tom Weber, Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, Lake County Board member Sara Knizhnik, Lake County Board member Gina Roberts, and Lake County Board member Marah Altenberg. Directors Mark Pfister and Sam Johnson from the Lake County Health Depart-

Wildlife tracking system installed at Ryerson Conservation Area

A new, groundbreaking effort to study animal migrations and connect researchers, scientists and students to real-time migratory data across the globe is underway. Lake County is one of the newest links in the chain.

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System (Motus) uses automated radio telemetry to study the movements of birds, bats and large insects. Tiny, digitally encoded tags are safely attached to an animal and detected by receiving stations on the landscape. Stations come in many configurations, but at their basic level consist of a radio receiver, one or more antennas and a power supply.

The newest local site now operational is at Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods. The station was funded through grants from the Margot Merrick Fund and the Annual Fund of the Preservation Foundation, the charitable partner of the Lake County Forest Preserves. Chain O’ Lakes State Park and Illinois Beach State Park also host stations.

“We’re thrilled to be part of this international collaborative research network that focuses on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals,” Director of Education Nan Buckardt said. “What’s gained is invaluable, real-time migration mapping information that provides insights into the animals’ journeys, which can be used collaboratively in scientific research, conservation efforts and education.”

This method of tracking involves using nanotags weighing as little as 0.15 grams and measuring smaller than a paperclip. They can be used on bees, butterflies, dragonflies and diminutive bird species.

ment attended as well due to their role in administering A Way Out and other local programs including the Mobile Crisis Team.

The event ended with informal breakout meetings on how to connect more Lake County residents with rehabilitation, even when arrested for low level crimes. Chief Patrick

Kreis from Vernon Hills stated, “The Summit provided an excellent opportunity for police and other stakeholders to gather and discuss their mutual interest in helping people. By providing services instead of incarceration to those in need of help, we believe we can better serve the needs the community.”

New year to bring new laws in Illinois

Elimination of cash bail one of many changes taking effect Jan. 1

By Peter Hancock CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS

By now, almost everyone in Illinois has heard that Jan.

1 will mark the beginning of a significant change in the state’s criminal justice system – the elimination of cash bail.

It’s an issue that dominated the 2022 campaigns and has been both praised and criticized on editorial pages in newspapers across the state. It essentially means that starting Jan.

1, the decision as to whether a criminal suspect should be held in jail while awaiting trial will be based on public safety and the likelihood the suspect will flee rather than their financial ability to post bond.

And while that criminal justice reform has received widespread attention, it is by no means the only new law that will take effect when the calendar turns over to 2023.

For most people who work a minimum wage job, the new year will bring a pay raise to

$13 per hour, a $1 increase over the current wage. That’s the result of a law Gov. JB Pritzker signed in 2019, his first major legislative victory after being sworn into office a month earlier. The law will eventually raise the wage to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2025.

The new $13 hourly rate does not apply to all minimum wage earners. People who receive tips at work will see their base wage rise to $7.80 an hour. And people younger than 18 who work fewer than 650 hours per year will see their wage go up to $10.50 an hour.

The higher wage will probably come as welcome news for those who drive a car to and from work. That’s because the new year will also bring higher motor fuel taxes.

The same year Pritzker signed the minimum wage bill, he also signed a multi-year, $45 billion transportation and capital improvements bill known as “Rebuild Illinois,” which is funded in part with higher motor fuel taxes that are scheduled to increase with inflation each year.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Hi-Liter/MCN

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart welcomed participants to the first annual Lake County Deflection/ Diversion Summit held earlier this month.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Hi-Liter/MCN

A Motus Wildlife Tracking System was installed at Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods.

• New laws

The adjustment in the tax rate is supposed to take effect on July 1 of each year, the first day of the state’s fiscal year. But last spring, in the face of rising inflation and healthy state revenues, lawmakers authorized a six-month delay in the scheduled increase, putting it off until Jan. 1.

As a result, starting Jan. 1, the motor fuel tax people pay at the pump will go up 3.1 cents per gallon, and then it will increase again when the next regular adjustment date comes around on July 1, 2023.

Criminal law

Several new criminal laws will go into effect Jan. 1, including three that deal with sex offenses.

One of those prevents people who solicit sex from a minor or a person with a severe or profound intellectual disability from asserting a defense that they simply did not know the person was underage or intellectually disabled. House Bill 4593, signed into law May 27, puts the burden of proof on the defendant that they did not know the age or disability status of the other person, rather than the other way around.

Another new law changes the definition of when a person is “unable to give knowing consent.” Under current law, a person cannot give knowing consent when the accused person “administers any intoxicating or anesthetic substance or any controlled substance” that causes the victim to lose consciousness of the nature of the act.

House Bill 5441, signed June 16, broadens that definition to include when the victim has taken any intoxicating or controlled substance causing them to lose consciousness of the nature of the act, even if the substances were administered by someone else.

Another bill expands certain employment restrictions that apply to convicted child sex offenders. Currently, they are prohibited from being employed by, or even being present at, child day care centers, schools that provide beforeand after-school programs for children or any facility that provides programs or services

system

Recent assessments report that one-third of North America’s bird populations are at risk, and pollinators, such as native bees and monarch butterflies, are in decline, Buckardt said. Almost 300 species of avian adventurers have been tagged for Motus tracking, crisscrossing continents on their annual trips and potentially passing 1,558 receiving stations installed across the Americas.

“Motus is the ultimate hands-on community science project with realworld impacts both globally and locally here in Lake County,” Buckardt said. Learn more about the technology: youtube.com/ watch?v=3qUlnfHP_Ig

Facts about Motus

• 34 countries have Motus receiver stations

• There are 1,558 Motus receiver stations • 306 species have been tagged • 36,322 animals have been tagged

• There are 1,620 Motus partners and collaborators

exclusively for people under age 18.

Senate Bill 3019, signed May 27, expands that to prohibit convicted child sex offenders from working at carnivals, amusement enterprises, county fairs and the State Fair when people under age 18 are present.

Another new law expands the list of professionals who are required to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect. Starting Jan. 1, under Senate Bill 3833, signed May 13, occupational therapists and assistants, physical therapists and assistants, and athletic trainers will be added to that list.

Carjacking

Three new laws taking effect Jan. 1 are intended to address a spike in carjackings around the state. All were signed on May 26.

House Bill 601 expands the crime of possession of burglary tools to include possession, with the intention to enter and steal a vehicle, of devices to unlock or start a vehicle without the key to that vehicle, or devices that capture or duplicate a signal from a key fob to unlock or start the vehicle.

House Bill 3699 expands an existing state council charged with providing grants and financial support to law enforcement agencies to aid in identifying, apprehending and prosecuting carjackers and recover stolen vehicles.

And House Bill 3772 ensures that victims of carjackings are not liable for costs and fines associated with impounding a vehicle that was stolen or hijacked, provided the owner files a police report in a timely manner.

Education

To address a shortage of substitute teachers throughout the state, House Bill 4798, signed April 27, allows students enrolled in approved teacher training programs who have earned at least 90 credit hours to obtain a substitute teaching license. Before, applicants had

to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution of higher education.

House Bill 4716, signed May 27, calls on the Illinois State Board of Education to adopt “rigorous learning standards” for classroom and laboratory phases of driver education programs for novice teen drivers. Those will include, at a minimum, the Novice Teen Driver Education and Training Administrative Standards developed by the Association of National Stakeholders in Traffic Safety Education in association with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Higher education

In an effort to get more people to pursue careers in human services, Senate Bill 3925, signed June 10, establishes a student loan repayment program. Subject to appropriations, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will award loan repayment grants to qualified individuals with an associate degree or higher who works for a human services agency that contracts with or is grant-funded by a state agency that provides “direct or indirect services that ensure that individuals have essential elements to build and maintain physical, emotional, and economic well-being at every phase of life.”

Awards can be made for a maximum of four years. Maximum amounts are $3,000 per year for someone with an associate degree, $15,000 per year

for a person with a bachelor’s degree and $25,000 per year for a person with a master’s degree or higher, with a $5,000 per-year add-on if the applicant holds certain professional licenses.

Meanwhile, students currently enrolled in any program at a public university or community college will have access to trained individuals who can help them apply for federal, state or local assistance based on their financial need. House Bill 4201, signed June 7, requires those institutions to designate a “benefits navigator” to help students identify and determine their eligibility for various benefit programs.

Alzheimer’s care

Senate Bill 3707, signed May 27, requires all employees and people who work for agencies that contract with the Illinois Department on Aging

who provide direct services to individuals participating in its Community Care Program to receive at least two hours of training in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, as well as safety risks, communication and behavior associated with the disease.

Hunting

Starting Jan. 1, deer hunters in Illinois will have a new option for the type of firearm they use. House Bill 4386, signed May 27, authorizes the use of single-shot centerfire rifles –guns that can fire only a single round of ammunition that contains primer in the center of the cartridge and not in the rim of the cartridge. Before, only shotguns, handguns and muzzleloading rifles were allowed.

State symbols

Illinois will have two new official state symbols effective

Jan. 1. House Bill 4821 establishes the eastern milksnake as the official state snake. That was an initiative of Gentry Heiple, a snake enthusiast and Carterville Junior High School seventh grader. And House Bill 4261 establishes dolostone as the official state rock. That was an initiative of a group of students from Pleasantdale Middle School and Maplebrook Elementary School.

Vehicles

People who own vehicles that were manufactured in Illinois will be able to apply for a slight break on their registration fees starting Jan. 1. Senate Bill 3609 allows those drivers to apply for a one-time $25 rebate, “if the vehicle is manufactured in this state and the application for title is made no more than one year after the month in which the vehicle was manufactured.”

Sports/Classic Cars

1990 CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE, triple black, 49,000 miles, automatic, no winters. $11,500. (630) 886-6667.

Sport Utilities

1999 CHEVY TAHOE LT select 4WD, 198k mi., new fuel pump, tires & more, 5.7 eng., well maint’d, little rust. $2,800. 815845-2006

Trucks & Trailers

Bicycles

TRAILER: WOODEN FRAME 11ft. 6in. long, 4ft. wide, 12in. deep. Made of 2x8 and 2x10 planking. 15” tires. $575. Pell Lake, WI. 262-279-3188.

Other Real Estate

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familiar/ status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1-900-669-9777. The toll-free tele phone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275. EQUAL HOUSING

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