Bulls advance past Nets, move on to Heat
Sports, C1
SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013
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CHARITABLE GIVING • PLANIT STYLE, 6
SAFE PLAY • SPORTS, C1
Area kids donate presents to their favorite nonprofits
Bats make softball masks a priority
CL South’s Hailee Massie
Pivotal moment for Ill. pensions Major reform bill, much changed in state House, now in Senate president’s hands By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com All eyes in the pension crisis are now on the Illinois Senate – and specifically Senate President John Cullerton – in the final weeks of the spring legislative session. House lawmakers on Thursday rammed through
far-reaching reforms meant to stabilize state-run pension systems that are underfunded by more than $96 billion. Powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan rewrote a Senate bill, sponsored by Cullerton himself, that critics called a barely adequate baby step when pension liability is growing by an estimated $17
Syrians: Israeli bombing escalates
million a day. The next move is Cullerton’s. He can sit on the bill and not call it, or he can move it forward, very likely with some proposed changes, such as what he is hammering out with leaders of the state’s powerful public-sector unions. Cullerton’s office did not return calls seeking com-
ment. But Sen. Dan Duffy, R-Lake Barrington, who recently spoke with him, said Cullerton has no choice but to move meaningful pension reform forward. “I think he’ll slightly amend the bill, make some changes to it to save face or modify it to make it more acceptable to him, and he’ll try
‘Life backwards’
to run it,” Duffy said. With the spring session ending May 31, Duffy said he would be surprised if Cullerton tried to craft a completely new bill. Cullerton has been a voice of caution in the pension debate, warning that reforms
See REFORM, page A9
State Sen. Dan Duffy R-Lake Barrington
State Sen. John Cullerton D-Chicago
Journey out of homelessness spurs local woman’s desire to give back
By JOSEF FEDERMAN and KARIN LAUB The Associated Press BEIRUT – Israeli missiles struck a research center near the Syrian capital Damascus, setting off explosions and causing casualties, Syria’s state news agency reported early Sunday, citing initial reports. If confirmed, it would be the second Israeli strike on targets in Syria in three days, signaling a sharp escalation of Israel’s involvement in Syria’s bloody civil war. There was no immediate Israeli comment. However, Israel has said it will not allow sophisticated weapons to flow from Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and a heavily armed foe of the Jewish state. Two previous Israeli airstrikes, one in January and one on Friday, targeted weapons apparently bound for Hezbollah, Israeli and U.S. officials have said. The Syrian state news agency SANA reported early Sunday that explosions went off at the Jamraya research center near Damascus, causing casualties. “Initial reports point to these explosions being a result of Israeli missiles that targeted the research center in Jamraya,” SANA said. A Syrian activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also reported large explosions
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
While living in her car, Johnna Raithel worked on her artwork, writings and tried to stay occupied. She was admitted into McHenry County PADS, where she spent one month looking for work and getting back on her feet. In February, Raithel started working with Crystal Lake Preschool, where she is a school bus aide for pre-school children. By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com
C
RYSTAL LAKE – During one of the worst nights within a stretch of bad ones, Johnna Raithel tried to make her fourwheeled apartment a home.
The 23-year-old remembers putting her hot pink comforter across the seat of her 1998 Mercury Mystique. She set out all her little hand-sewn pillows, the products of her own labor. She lay down as best she could, snuggling up on an October evening. But, like so many of those fall nights, Raithel could not sleep. She could only stare. “I just remember sitting there, like, this isn’t home,” she said. “I got all my things here, but my kids are with my husband. I don’t have any
money. I’m homeless.” ••• In technical terms, Raithel is 23 years old. She feels older. She dropped out of high school at age 16, got pregnant not long after. That was also the year she was diagnosed with ADHD. She married at age 17, the same year she had her first baby. Another one came two years later.
See HOMELESSNESS, page A10
See ISRAEL, page A9
LOCALLY SPEAKING
CRYSTAL LAKE
NEW OFFICIALS GET ETHICS TRAINING Representatives from the McHenry County State’s Attorney and Attorney General offices offered a crash course in transparency and ethics training for newly elected public officials last week. The evening’s event highlighted the Freedom of Information Act, the Open Meetings Act and the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act. For more, see page B1.
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
HIGH
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71 46 Complete forecast on A12
LAKE IN THE HILLS: Off-leash Bark Park, which features playing areas and obstacle course, gets tails wagging. Local, B1 Vol. 28, Issue 125
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