Musick: Jon Bostic faces daunting task of replacing No. 54
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AMERICAN PROFILE • INSIDE
Alex Ferguson strikes out 14; Woodstock takes 5-0 win
A look at a growing hobby: taking river boat trips
Permit fees waived for flood repair Officials dispel accusations that Charles Miller Road bridge project worsened flooding By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Friday morning’s special meeting of the McHenry County Board to deal with last week’s flooding was part action, part update and part rumor control. The County Board voted, 21-0, to waive building and stormwater permit fees through the end of the year for repairing flood-damaged struc-
More inside McHenry County residents deal with the aftermath of last week’s heavy rains. PAGE B1 tures. They heard from emergency officials that floodwaters are slowly receding and river levels are slowly dropping. And transportation officials told
them that allegations that ongoing work to replace the Charles Miller Road bridge in McHenry has exacerbated Fox River flooding upstream of the project are unfounded. Board members convened the special meeting just before a regularly scheduled budget workshop. It will have to vote in early May to extend the state of emergency that Chairwoman Tina Hill, R-Woodstock, declared.
McHenry County is one of 44 counties declared disaster areas by Gov. Pat Quinn. The declaration frees up state resources to help with response and recovery, and allows the state to ask for federal assistance. Water levels on the Fox River and Nippersink Creek are slowly receding, McHenry County Emergency Management Agency Assistant Director Robert Ellsworth told board members.
Debate over medical marijuana Shifting opinion on the issue has a new bill moving on in the Illinois Senate
The Fox River at the tail water of the McHenry Lock and Dam was just under 7.2 feet as of Friday morning. It had reached a historical high of almost 7.5 feet. Flood stage at that portion of the river is 4 feet. Downstream, water levels at the tail water of Algonquin dam were at 12.3 feet and slowly falling. Flood stage at that location is 9.5 feet. The
See FLOODING, page A9
Economy picks up after late stall in 2012 Growth comes despite deep government cuts The ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Rob Robinson poses for a portrait near his home in Fox Lake. Robinson is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor and proponent for medical marijuana. By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
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OX LAKE – Just a month or so before Rob Robinson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, his brother-in-law, Greg Guntharp, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer.
As Guntharp’s cancer spread rapidly and the news only got worse, Robinson struggled with whether to offer Guntharp marijuana, which Robinson had been using recreationally for years but had been helping him with the nausea that followed chemotherapy. Guntharp, a Spring Grove
resident, was a deputy chief for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, where he had worked for 28 years, and Robinson didn’t know what he would think of Robinson’s use of the illegal substance. Robinson didn’t offer it, and just seven months after being diagnosed, Guntharp died at the
age of 50, leaving Robinson wondering whether he could have done more to help. “I just thought, ‘Even if I couldn’t have saved him, could I have at least alleviated some of his suffering if I had had the courage to say something,’’’ he
See MARIJUANA, page A9
WASHINGTON – After nearly stalling in late 2012, the American economy quickened its pace early this year despite deep government cutbacks. The strongest consumer spending in two years fueled a 2.5 percent annual growth rate in the January-March quarter. The question is: Can it last? Federal spending cuts, higher Social Security taxes and cautious businesses are likely to weigh on the economy in coming months. Most economists say they think growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, is slowing in the April-June quarter to an annual rate of about 2 percent. Many predict growth will hover around that subpar level for the rest of the year. Friday’s Commerce Department report on GDP showed that consumers stepped up spending at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the January-March quarter – the biggest such jump since the end of 2010. Growth was also helped by businesses, which responded to the greater demand by rebuilding their stockpiles. And home construction rose further. Government spending sank at a 4.1 percent annual rate, led by another deep cut in defense. Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, foresees more improvement in the second half of the year. “The second-half acceleration will be supported by improved household finances, pent-up demand for autos and the ongoing recovery
See ECONOMY, page A9
LOCALLY SPEAKING
McHENRY COUNTY
FORMER BOARD MEMBER MISCONDUCT A panel concluded that attorney and former McHenry County Board member Robert Bless engaged in professional misconduct relating to a 2010 complaint against his law license. The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission Hearing Board will release a full report. For more, see page B1.
Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
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