bAKn9y11-27-2012

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‘BREAKING DAWN - PART 2’

★★★

PLUS: Local fans look back on the movie series & Kristen Stewart on what’s next for her THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012

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INSIDE TODAY’S PL@Y

CARY-GROVE QUARTERBACK

SPECIAL TALENTS AMERICA

Quinn Baker follows brother’s lead Sports, C1

The only daily newspaper published in McHenry Co.

75 CENTS

Cary student wins talent competition Local&Region, B1

Tentative deal to be put to vote

After the divorce

District 158, union reach agreement after impasse By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com

Photo Illustration by H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com

When the wealth you have built for years is not what it was because of divorce, what can you do when it is so late in the game?

Couples need to think long term to keep financial lives afloat By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com Along the wall of Elizabeth Felt Wakeman’s office are boxes and boxes filled with paperwork. The divorce case that filled all those boxes – plus another nine file cabinets’ worth – isn’t typical, said Wakeman, a family law attorney with Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle in Crystal Lake. “There is nothing particularly typical in a divorce because there is such a wide range of the assets and liabilities that people have and

“

also the range of emotions,” she said. “And the emotions really do drive the finances, unfortunately.” The people who walk into her office – and into the offices of the other experts the Northwest Herald spoke with – often are unprepared for the stark financial picture that can be the result of one household becoming two. And with the housing market limping along and the unemployment number still high, the situation has gotten only worse for a lot of couples. For a lot of middle-class

families, their largest asset was their home, said Michael Stetler, a family law attorney with Gitlin, Busche & Stetler in Woodstock. When home values plummeted, it made the balance sheet attorneys use to divide assets look pretty bleak. “Sometimes it made cases easier and less contentious,” Stetler said. “Other times, people would fight harder for the little that was there.” Some are finding they just can’t afford divorce, and so they’re staying together, at least temporarily, said Joe Genarella, a certified divorce financial analyst with

Dorion-Gray Retirement Planning. It’s a good solution if the couple still are on good speaking terms, he said, although he recommends they set out guidelines. There are ways around the housing issue, although none of them are ideal, said Stetler, who has a background in accounting. For one, the couple can still get divorced but put off selling the home until the market improves, letting one partner remain in the house.

See DIVORCE, page A6

They have to not only literally but metaphorically divorce themselves from the previous relationship that they were in. They have to start anew, which is a difficult situation.” Gregg Vann, a financial adviser with James T. Borello & Co. in East Dundee

LOCALLY SPEAKING

CRYSTAL LAKE

D-46 GIVES LEADER 3 MORE YEARS District 46 school board members approved a new performance-based contract with the district’s superintendent. Lynette Zimmer’s three-year agreement was approved the same day the board inked a deal with its teachers union. Zimmer will receive a 1 percent raise. For more, see page B1.

Bill Kurtis

Photo provided

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51 31 Complete forecast on A8

WOODSTOCK: News anchor Bill Kurtis lends voice to documentary, ‘The First Fifty Years.’ Plan!t Pl@y 11 Vol. 27, Issue 320

Where to find it Advice Business Buzz Classified

C6 D1-6 C8 F1-12

Comics C7 Local&Region B1-6 Lottery A2 Obituaries B4

Opinion A7 Plan!t Pl@y Inside Puzzles/TV grid F11 Sports C1-5

HUNTLEY – The attention on monthslong negotiations between District 158 and its teacher union now shifts to Monday, as 600-plus teachers prepare to vote on a tentative contract agreement. The agreement was reached between union leaders and the board just after midnight Wednesday. The two sides negotiated for almost five hours during an impromptu bargaining session, hours after the union declared a formal impasse in contract talks that began in the summer. The agreement, both sides said, more effectively

addresses teacher compensation issues, even though neither side disclosed any details – something they have refrained from doing since a third-party mediator was requested in August. “We are very pleased that the board and HEA came together to put together a contract,” Huntley Education Association co-President Julie McLaughlin said. “Both parties are proud to have achieved their mutual goals.” The 600 or more teachers belonging to the Huntley Education Association already have rejected a tentative deal in early September.

See DEAL, page A6

Group: Ill. pension system is ‘unfixable’ By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ public-employee pensions system is so far in debt that it is “unfixable,” an influential business group said Wednesday. The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago told its members in a memo that even current retirees’ benefits must be cut and other drastic action taken to prevent pensionprogram bankruptcy, the memo said. “The pension crisis has grown so severe that it is now unfixable,” former state

Attorney General Tyrone Fahner, the committee’s president, wrote. “We do not make that statement lightly. It is an honest statement that no one – not our legislators, nor our governor, nor labor leaders – is willing to say publicly.” The memo said workers putting money into the retirement accounts will never see the payback they were promised. “It’s not melodrama, it’s fraud,” Fahner said in an interview with The Associated Press. “They’re paying under false pretenses.”

See PENSION, page A6

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Yesterday’s NWHerald.com most-commented stories 1. Letter: GOP’s social agenda 2. Letter: Abortion issue 3. Letter: Do your job

Yesterday’s NWHerald.com most-emailed stories 1. Chase for child support 2. Key witness in murder trial charged with battery 3. Letter: Verbal bullying

Efik_n\jk ?\iXc[ & EN?\iXc[%Zfd `j published daily, Sundays and holidays by Shaw Media, P.O. Box 250, Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0250.

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GENERAL INFORMATION: 815-459-4040

Most affairs aren’t news until they are News consumers and media operatives say people love a good sex scandal, and they’re right, but that doesn’t mean that many of us can’t be a little embarrassed by the level of detail and the resources thrown at the Gen. David Petraeus story. As a newsroom manager, or even as a beat reporter, you’re always concerned about resources. Time is finite. Like cutbacks in many industries, staff has dwindled in newsrooms from the Northwest Herald to CNN. Every minute you spend on one story is a minute you can’t spend on another. Not terribly often in local news markets, but occasionally, people want to tell you a so-and-so is sleeping with so-and-so story. It’s one of the quickest ways to end a conversation. Sounds like a personal problem, which unless it affects something larger, it’s a family matter not a news story. People are unfaithful to their

VIEWS Kevin Lyons spouses. Dog bites man. It happens. Half of all marriages end in divorce. It’s nothing to celebrate or gloat over, and unless it’s your marriage or the marriage of a close friend or family member, not much to agonize over, either. In Petraeus’ case, it obviously does affect something larger. When the director of the CIA steps down over an affair, that’s news. This isn’t just some guy who runs the township snowplow fleet – he’s the head of the most powerful spy agency on a very dangerous planet. You can’t reasonably argue that this isn’t news. His resignation causes problems for the CIA and high levels

of the federal government, but it’s very murky at this point how much impact the affair itself will have beyond the destruction of some careers and personal lives. And that’s the key: We don’t know yet. So in the meantime, those of us who are squeamish about the details of people’s private affairs might want to look away until we know. Some of us aren’t squeamish, we just don’t care until we have to care. But you can expect the national media to probe every possible detail until we know whether there’s more to this. Between legitimate news outlets and tabloids and scandal rags, we’ll hear details that you wouldn’t hear about your best friend’s dalliance. Some details take you to the next level of a story, others are just silly and salacious, and professional reporters should be able to tell the difference. We should hope that the focus of

media reports are on things that could be important. Was national security compromised at any point and how? What impact will the scandal have on the Benghazi investigation? Does the federal government have too much power and ability to examine private emails? And speaking of resources, if there is little more to this scandal, why is the FBI spending time investigating spats among jealous, scorned lovers? Meanwhile, expect to hear even more, whether you’re looking for that kind of information or not, until the only plot lines left are suitable for a Lifetime movie. Just like democracy, journalism is occasionally a messy affair.

s +EVIN ,YONS IS NEWS EDITOR OF the Northwest Herald. Reach him at 815-526-4505 or email him at kelyons@ shawmedia.com.

NORTHWEST OUTTAKES

LOTTERY

Calories in booze nearly equal soda’s for adults

Indiana Lottery Daily 3 Midday: 3-8-3 Daily 3 Evening: 8-3-0 Daily 4 Midday: 5-5-3-8 Daily 4 Evening: 2-8-3-7 Cash 5: 5-7-9-30-32 Lotto: 16-18-21-29-33-34 Est. jackpot: $10 million Wisconsin Lottery Pick 3: 2-9-7 Pick 4: 0-2-2-4 Megabucks: 10-12-17-27-40-43 SuperCash: 10-23-31-34-36-37 Badger 5: 6-8-21-25-29

WATER COOLER Loose gorilla alert? Electronic sign hacked

Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

Racers compete Oct. 14 in the fourth annual Run and Roll for the Dole in Crystal Lake. The race featured a 2-mile run through Crystal Lake, 20K bike course and a repeat of the 2-mile run to the finish line. All proceeds from the race will benefit Lakeside Legacy Foundation and Historic Dole Mansion.

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? Check out our gallery of images made by Northwest Herald photographers on the Northwest Herald Facebook page at http://shawurl.com/1d6. Photos also can be purchased at NWHerald.mycapture.com.

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The Northwest Herald invites you to voice your opinion. Log on to www. EN?\iXc[%Zfd Xe[ mfk\ fe kf[XpËj gfcc question:

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Which was your favorite Twilight movie? Wednesday’s results:

Have you ever volunteered for The Salvation Army’s red kettle drive?

83%

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No

17% Yes

LOCAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Mike Harvel mharvel@shawmedia.com Display advertising: 815-459-4040 Fax: 815-477-4960 V.P. / CIRCULATION & MARKETING Kara Hansen 815-459-8118 khansen@shawmedia.com CLASSIFIED To place an ad: 815-455-4800 or 800-589-8237 NEWSROOM Telephone: 815-459-4122 Fax: 815-459-5640 CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT CUSTOMER SERVICE: 7717 S. Route 31 Crystal Lake, IL 60014 Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, 7 to 10 a.m. 815-459-8118 or 800-589-9363 MISSED YOUR PAPER? Please call by 10 a.m. for same-day redelivery

The Associated Press

Powerball Numbers: 8-10-30-44-58 Powerball: 13 Est. jackpot: $185 million

Northwest Herald Web Poll Question

REGIONAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jim Ringness jringness@shawmedia.com

By MIKE STOBBE

Mega Millions Est. jackpot: $26 million

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SENIOR EDITOR Dan McCaleb 815-459-4122 dmccaleb@shawmedia.com

TODAY’S TALKER

Illinois Lottery Pick 3 Midday: 9-3-5 Pick 3 Evening: 2-7-0 Pick 4 Midday: 3-1-2-8 Pick 4 Evening: 0-2-3-2 Lucky Day Lotto: 2-14-17-29-33 Lotto: 8-34-37-46-47-52 Lotto jackpot: $4 million

LOOMIS, Calif. – A prankster is changing the message on an electronic traffic warning sign in Northern California. The sign is supposed to tell people that a road in the Placer County city of Loomis will be closed for pipeline construction. Instead, it read, “Smoke N\\[ <m\ip[Xp cXjk n\\b% The Sacramento Bee reported that it also read, “Caution Loose Gorilla!� GcXZ\i :flekp NXk\i 8^\eZp J\e`fi <e^`e\\i Kfep Firenzi told the Bee it took skill to change the message. The unknown hacker needed a keyboard and had to bypass some systems.

PUBLISHER John Rung jrung@shawmedia.com 815-459-4040

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.%7 9/2+ n !MERICANS get too many calories from soda. But what about alcohol? It turns out adults get almost as many empty calories from booze as from soft drinks, a government study found. Soda and other sweetened drinks – the focus of obesityfighting public health campaigns – are the source of about 6 percent of the calories adults consume, on average. Alcoholic beverages account for about 5 percent, the new study found. “We’ve been focusing on sugar-sweetened beverages. This is something new,� said Cynthia Ogden, one of the study’s authors. She’s an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which released its findings Thursday. The government researchers say the findings deserve attention because, like soda, alcohol contains few nutrients but plenty of calories. The study is based on interviews with more than 11,000 U.S. adults from 2007 through 2010. Participants were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours. The study found: s /N ANY GIVEN DAY ABOUT one-third of men and one-fifth of women consumed calories from beer, wine or liquor. s !VERAGED OUT TO ALL ADULTS the average guy drinks 150 calories from alcohol each day, or the equivalent of a can of Budweiser. s 4HE AVERAGE WOMAN DRINKS about 50 calories, or roughly half a glass of wine. s -EN DRINK MOSTLY BEER For women, there was no clear favorite among alcoholic beverages. s 4HERE WAS NO RACIAL OR ETHnic difference in average calories consumed from alcoholic beverages. But there was an age difference, with younger adults putting more of it away.

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CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS Accuracy is important to the Northwest Herald, and we want to correct mistakes promptly. Please call errors to our attention by phone, 815-459-4122; email, tips@ nwherald.com; or fax, 815459-5640.

CRISIS LINE Don’t know where to turn for help? Call the McHenry County Crisis Line at 800892-8900. The phone line is open 24 hours a day. It’s confidential and free. You also can visit the crisis line on the N\Y Xk nnn%dZ_\eip$Zi`j`j% org.

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