OPINION: Holidays bring out the best in Jersey County: Page A4 NEWS: JCBA Christmas tree competition underway: Page A2
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JERSEY COUNTY
JERSEYVILLE, IL 62052
INSIDE NEWS
CASA benefits from carpet challenge. See page C7
FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
Molloy - Opperman engagement. See page A6
SCHOOL
Rotary donates dictionaries to Grafton students. See page B2
SPORTS
Lady Panthers improve to 4-2. See page B10
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TOP STORIES ONLINE
Week of Dec. 4-10 1) Pension reform hits local school districts’ faculty 2) Fire destroys three homes in three days 3) District 100 bids for floor, ceiling replacement at West 4) B_st trip _v_r: I’d like to buy an ‘E’ 5) Piasa Birds edged by Hawks in nail-biter
DECEMBER 11, 2013
JOURNAL VOL. 11, NO. 50 - 75¢
DHS petitions to send Prough back to Jersey County By ROBERT LyONS Jersey County Journal The Springfield mental health facility housing Mark Prough wants to send him back to Jersey County while he awaits sentencing. Prough has been detained at McFarland Mental Center undergoing treatment since 2011, while his fitness to stand trial was routinely evaluated. Earlier this year, Prough was determined by his evaluators that he was fit to stand trial, and on Sept. 30 he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to first degree murder. After entering the plea, he was remanded back into the custody of Department of Human Services (DHS) while he awaits sentencing.
However, DHS requested later in October that because Prough was fit to stand trial, has pleaded guilty and is voluntarily complying with his medical regimen, his treatment at McFarland was no longer justified. On Oct. 17, DHS requested Prough be transferred back to Jersey County until his sentencing in March 2014. However, the court denied the request on Oct. 31. Now DHS, represented by Attorney General Lisa Madigan is petitioning the court to vacate its order denying the DHS request. The petition, sent to Jersey County on Nov. 27, cites a portion of Illinois statute stating the defendant could continue to receive care at McFarland if “the supervisor of the defendant’s
SPREADING
JERSEY COUNTY
Employee termination sparks county board drama By BOB CROSSEN Jersey County Board Board member John Houseman took issue with Chairman Jerry WIttman’s comments regarding former county code administrator Mike Prough after the county employee’s contract was terminated during a special meeting Nov. 25. Quoting from an issue of the Jersey County Journal, Houseman said Wittman and State’s Attorney Ben Goetten had “raging reviews” of Prough. “Mr. Wittman, I think it is time to be truthful with the residents of Jersey County and tell them why Mike was terminated,” Houseman said. “Everyone on this board knows exactly why Mike was terminated and it’s up to us to tell the taxpayers of Jersey County the truth. The simple truth.” Wittman said Prough worked for the county for many years – since 2002 – during which he
received a number of awards for his work with the county’s floodplain management. After learning FEMA was putting the county on probation due to lax enforcement of floodplain regulations, Prough took the position. He received a Gold Star Award for completing FEMA’s required courses, and in 2007 and 2009 he was awarded Flood Plain Manager of the Year from the Illinois Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Management. “I’m not saying what he did at the end was right or wrong, that’s not for me to say and we’ve already discussed that,” Wittman said. “I think he did a fantastic job at times when he was here and when he first started, so I’m not going to say that he didn’t.” Wittman said the board cannot give finer details as to why he was terminated because the information was discussed during closed session. According to the Illinois (See, boArd, A2)
High school teacher suspended during internal investigation STAff REPORT Jersey County Journal A student was arrested and a Jersey Community High School teacher is on administrative leave while the district performs an internal investigation of a situation. Jerseyville Police Chief Brad Blackorby confirmed his department conducted an investigation at the high school, but could not provide any details as to the nature of the investigation. He did say a teacher was investigated, but would not face any charges at this time. A minor aged female student was arrested on charges of harassment by electronic
device, stalking and disorderly conduct. Jersey Community Unit School District No. 100 Superintendent Lori Hopkins said the teacher was placed on administrative leave during the third week of November and has remained on leave while the district conducts its own investigation. Hopkins, due to confidentiality, could not comment on the nature of the investigation, either. The decision to place the teacher on administrative leave was made without board approval, which Hopkins said was not required in this circumstance.
KEEPING
treatment agrees to continue to provide it.” The petition goes on to state the supervisor of Prough’s treatment no longer agrees to provide the treatment. Jersey County Sheriff Mark Kallal said he had not been made aware of DHS’s intentions to send him back to the county, where he would be housed at the sheriff’s department. “We’re not equipped to treat him in the manner he’s being treated up there,” Kallal said. Prough is facing between 20 years and life in prison for the 2009 murder of his father, Dennis Prough. Mark Prough was accused of shooting his father and then setting fire to the Kane home where the crime occurred. He led authorities on a three-day manhunt and was apprehended
Mark Kallal Jersey County Sherriff
armed with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun northwest of Kane. Prough accepted an Alford plea, meaning he did not admit to the murder, but concedes the prosecution had enough evidence for a conviction.
THE HOLIDAY CHEER
Robert Lyons/Jersey County Journal
Members of the Jersey Community High School choir, under the direction of Luanne Taul, sing Christmas Carols Wednesday morning to residents at Jerseyville Nursing and Rehab Center.
JERSEY COUNTY
Angel Tree still in need Pension reform hits local of gift donations school districts’ faculty “At the moment, we really need children adopted,” Arnold said, noting more than 700 kids were served with the program last year. “Right now, we have approximately 250 children that are still unadopted.” By adopting a child, a person gets the name of a child, as well as some information pertaining to the child’s interests so the donator can purchase gifts relating to the adopted child. (See, Angel tree, A2)
By BOB CROSSEN Jersey County Journal Volunteer help and adopters for Angel Tree are still needed in Jerseyville where hundreds of kids benefit from the program, which gives them presents on Christmas. Janice Arnold, Angel Tree coordinator, said there are still children who have not been adopted. Nearly 600 kids in 264 families have been signed up for the program this year.
JOLLY AND WARM
INDEX Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 News . . . A2, A3, A7, B2,B 7 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . B4 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Our Town . . . . . . . . . . A8 Public Notice . . . . . . . . D1 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . C8 OBITUARIES: ABBOTT, CARTER, CLOTHIER, GRETHER, KENNEDY, NOWAK, UFER.
jerseycountyjournal .com Bob Crossen/Jersey County Journal
© 2013 Jersey County Journal
“We’re not equipped to treat him in the manner he’s being treated up there.”
Nikki Mooney, far right, hands Alisha Brown of Auburn, left, a cup of hot chocolate and a plastic bag for her chocolate Saturday afternoon at the Grafton Winery during the Taste of Chocolate in Grafton. Hundreds of people visited the riverside city last weekend for the annual event organized by the Grafton Chamber of Commerce. C
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By BOB CROSSEN Calhoun News-Herald Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed the pension reform bill Dec. 5, which will reduce the pensions teachers through the state receive due to changes in cost of living adjustments (COLA) to the retirement salaries. Upon passage of Senate Bill 1, a number of agencies lobbying on behalf of teachers, administrators and other school personnel challenged the bill’s constitutionality, taking the issue before the courts to reverse the bill’s approval. Illinois Senator Sam McCann, who represents the state’s 50th District, opposes the bill’s passage because contents of the bill were not negotiated with those it will affect. “While there are some aspects of this bill that might have a positive effect, the lack of transparency and the fact that all stakeholders weren’t at the negotiation table are just two of the massive failures of this bill,” McCann said in a press release issued Dec. 3, the day when the bill passed both houses. According to state law, legally, the state cannot diminish the pension of an employee who has paid into the program. Kate Sievers, Calhoun Community Unit School District 40 superintendent, said the changes to COLA are the biggest factor in the reasons for a current court challenge. The adjustments to cost of living for teachers’ pensions were shifted under the new bill based on the retiree’s years of service. Current retirees will not see lower checks, but COLA accrues slower than before, and those who retire after the bill takes effect June 1, 2014 will notice pauses in COLA every other year. Pensionable salaries are also capped under the new law to $109,971 in 2013, the employee’s current salary, or the sal-
ary at the end of the collective bargaining agreement. Sievers said the changes are wide-ranging enough to affect every teacher in her district, especially those looking to
“While there are some aspects of this bill that might have a positive effect, the lack of transparency and the fact that all stakeholders weren’t at the negotiation table are just two of the massive failures of this bill.”
Sam McCann 50th District Representative
retire in the next few years. “The ones that are close to retirement are more anxious. Because it’s close, it’s more real to them,” Sievers said, “but even myself – I have several years yet in education – I’m worried. I’m worried it’s not going to be there when I retire.” The retirement age also changes based on a sliding scale relative to the teacher’s age. Those older than 46 at the time the bill goes into effect will not see a change in their retirement age, but those younger could be required to work additional years – up to a maximum of five years – before retiring. Another change forbids teachers hired after the bill goes into effect from using up to two years of sick leave toward early retirement. Younger teachers are also (See, reform, A2)