By Jamey Dunn

Union officials say the attempted sexual assault of a corrections officer in the Danville Correctional Center illustrates the dangers associated with the state’s overcrowded prison system.

According the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, which represents corrections employees statewide, an inmate who was housed in a gym at the medium security prison was in a separate housing unit doing laundry for other inmates housed in the gym. He allegedly lured a corrections officer into a laundry facility by claiming a machine was broken, punched her in the jaw and attempted to rape her. The union’s account says the guard was saved when another inmate responded to her screams and halted the attack.

The Department of Corrections denies that the officer was alone at the time of the attack. “The corrections officer who was assaulted was absolutely not the only officer with the inmates at the time. IDoC procedure calls for three: two officers and a control officer. That proven effective level of staffing was in place during the shift covering this assault,” Tom Shaer, a spokesman for the department, said in a written statement.

The department acknowledges an attack occurred but gives few details. “Danville Correctional Center is on lockdown after an assault on an officer early this morning. No serious injuries were sustained, and a thorough investigation is under way. Any physical contact with a guard is unacceptable, but again, fortunately, the officer was not seriously injured,” said a written statement from the department. “The Illinois Department of Corrections takes all incidents very seriously, as safety and security are our constant priorities. We have interviewed the officer, who is at home, other staff and inmate witnesses as we gather all the facts. Director [Tony] Godinez has also talked to the officer and extended his continued thanks for the fine work being done by this experienced individual and all DOC personnel.”

Gov. Pat Quinn has closed several corrections facilities including halfway houses, juvenile detention centers, a super-maximum security prison in Tamms and a women’s prison in Dwight. Quinn said that the state’s budget woes made the closures necessary. Women from Dwight were moved to the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. Men from Logan swapped places with women at the Lincoln Correctional Center. As part of the transition, an estimated 600 male prisoners were bused to six other prisons to be housed in gymnasiums filled with bunk beds. The department describes the situation as temporary, but it has yet to give specifics on its plan to stop putting prisoners in gyms. “It’s a temporary dorm setting. Obviously, we have no control over the inmates that we receive into the system,” corrections spokeswomen Stacey Solano told Illinois Issues last month when asked about the prisoners in gyms.  Similar conditions existed at other low level security facilities before the closures. However, inmates are housed on large wings instead of in gyms.

AFSCME sued to try to block the closures, arguing that they would create an unsafe environment for its members. But the Illinois Supreme Court sided with Quinn. “The men and women who work in our prisons provide for the safety of the public, and they deserve the safest possible working conditions,” AFSCME executive director Henry Bayer said in a written statement today. “Their job is difficult, but the choices of politicians have made it worse. The state has ignored its responsibility to provide the resources needed to maintain safety, and now workers are bearing the terrible consequences.”

 The Danville Correctional Center was designed to hold 900 inmates in single cells. By putting more than one prisoner in each cell, the department pegs the prison’s operational capacity at 1,862. According to the union’s count, at 1,931 the prison is currently over operational capacity.

AFSCME says that the prison is also understaffed. The union’s account of the attack says that the officer was alone in the housing unit. “Although prison directives require that two officers be posted on each unit at all times, they are routinely circumvented by management on the overnight shift, leaving a single officer alone. The union has repeatedly objected to this practice at Danville and elsewhere, fearing just this sort of opportunistic and predatory violence.”

However, a spokesman for DoC said that the department does not leave mandatory guard positions open. “In every correctional facility, there are mandatory posts. The Department of Corrections covers every mandatory post and does not leave them vacant,” Shaer said. The most recent report on the Danville facility from the prison watchdog group The John Howard Association is from 2011. The report says that like many DoC facilities, Danville was “plagued by staff vacancies.” The report predicted that understaffing could be an issue for the prison. “As more staff near retirement age, vacancies may cause problems in the near future.”

The Danville attack comes after recent reports of violent incidents at maximum security facilities, including the murders of three inmates at the Menard Correctional Center. But Anders Lindall, a spokesperson for AFSCME Council 31, said problems are not exclusive to the higher security facilities. “The dangers of crowding and violence are not only at the max security level. Every facility in the system is interdependent on others,” Lindall said.

Despite the department’s statement, Lindall said it is “on going practice” at some facilities to cover staffing gaps by having officers from mandatory posts cover other duties on the night shift. He said the union has “repeatedly” raised concerns about it. “You have an inmate who is housed in a gym and an officer who was left alone on a housing unit — all circumstances about which we have sounded the alarm in the past. This shouldn’t have happened.”

A proposed bill in Illinois could change child support orders for many parents in the state. The bill would allow a father to challenge the paternity of a child after the statute of limitations has expired, if there is DNA evidence that supports the father's claim that he is not the father.

If the proposed bill is passed, fathers could use the law to challenge their child support payments and possibly have their child support orders stopped. Individuals would have to take a DNA test to prove they are not the father of the child they are paying child support for.

The bill was proposed after an Illinois man found out he had been paying child support for several years before learning that the child was not biologically his. Under current laws, the man is still required to pay child support because he did not file a petition to challenge the paternity within the two-year statute of limitations.

The man said that he did not challenge the paternity sooner because he had no reason to believe the child was not his. He had only learned that he was not the father two years ago when he had a DNA test after meeting the child for the first time in 2011. He has been paying child support since 2001.

If the bill is passed, this man could take another DNA test to prove that he is not the child's biological child, and he could petition the court to end his child support obligations.

Source: The News-Gazette, "Child support bill approved," Tom Kacich, April 24, 2013

The Fighting Illini Caravan will be in Rockford next week.

The Bulls were blasted in Miami Wednesday 115-78.

Hononegah edged Boylan 2-1 Monday in baseball action.

White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd will have season-ending elbow surgery Tuesday.

Brandon Saad of the Blackhawks is one of the candidates for the NHL's top rookie award.

Five NIU football players have been named to the NFF Honor Society.

Wild beat Blackhawks 2-1 in overtime

Rockford hosts karate tournament

Byron Dragway hosts 10th annual Spring Nationals

Co-favorite Orb wins 139th Kentucky Derby

Bulls beat Nets in Game 7, 99-93

Hononegah won the Northern Illinois Track Invitational.

Courtney Clayton led Hononegah to the NIC-10 girls Track Championship.

The Nets beat the Bulls 95-92 Thursday to force a game seven.

Byron blanked Winnebago 4-0 Thursday in baseball action.

Scott Leber looks at the obstacles boys volleyball in the Stateline must overcome.

Boylan edged East 3-2 Wednesday in NIC-10 baseball.

You and PGA Tour Pros can help raise funds for youth golf programs in Rockford.

Former IceHog Antti Niemi is one of three finalists for the NHL's top goalie award.

The Blackhawks beat the Wild 3-0 Tuesday night.

Can boys high school volleyball become a premier sport in the Stateline?

Former Badger running back Ron Dayne has been elected to the college football Hall of Fame.

RVC's catcher Vivi Marquez is the N4C MVP.

Check out what's happening in the NewQuestCity Forums for Illinois .

Rare Manoel de Oliveira screens at Facets this Saturday
04/27/2013

Hometown zero: With Adam Dunn batting cleanup, the White Sox have nothing to worry about
04/27/2013

Did you read about Paul Ryan, Barbara Bush, and Los Angeles?
04/27/2013

Local streetwear label plans charity J. Dilla tribute shirt
04/27/2013

Saxophonist and Morton Grove native Jon Irabagon heats up
04/27/2013

Marking time with Powell and Pressburger, and other highlights from this week's film section
04/27/2013

Did you read about fertilizer, Don DeLillo, and Derek Jeter?
04/27/2013

The High Noon Saloon wins at churros, fails at everything else
04/27/2013

Critical Mass takes a stand against Mayor Rahm's school closings
04/27/2013

Reader's Agenda Fri 4/26: C2E2, Chicago Anarchist Film Festival, and Wonka Ball 2013
04/27/2013

Blank-page agony is a constant, says composer John Corigliano
04/27/2013

Hard times and hard liquor in The Angels’ Share
04/27/2013

Kiwi-influenced pop trio Brain Idea is sorta back, and it's awesome
04/27/2013

Best shows to see: White Lung, Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge, Killing Joke, and Bleached
04/27/2013

Sanford Biggers manifests a new destiny with Ago
04/27/2013

With Ago, artist Sanford Biggers manifests a new destiny. by Jeff Huebner Sanford Biggers's window installation Ago has a formal decorativeness that belies its provocative intentions. It combines a number of mediums (fabric, spray paint, wood, light boxes) and cultural references (quilt making, graffiti, Japanese woodblock prints, landscape painting) to put a twist on manifest destiny and America's coded—and not-so-coded—racial histories.…

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Cocktail Challenge: Kombucha
04/27/2013

Scofflaw's Uby Khawaja juices up the fermented tea with Old Tom gin. by Kate Schmidt Challenged with kombucha by Sable's Alex Renshaw, Uby Khawaja of Scofflaw turned to fashion designer and Big Star bartender Frog Greishaw, who brews her own from a "mother" (aka a SCOBY, for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). "I'm always using different flavors," she says—in this case, ginger, which Khawaja employed as an effervescent topper for his cocktail, the Tomfoolery.…

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As pecking orders go among cities, what's the place of Chicago?
04/27/2013

Reading the comments that follow my first Bleader post on Rachel Shteir's notorious book review, I spotted this intriguing observation.

It's not unusual for people to look for rivals (real or imagined) to measure themselves against or to strive to outdo.…

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LITH Board Outraged At Plans New Intersection Design
04/26/2013

A report that McHenry County plans call for bids on design work for a Continuous Flow Intersection at Randall and Algonquin roads sparked outrage at Thursday's Lake in the Hills Village Board meeting.  "Since 2008 we've vigorously opposed this project," said retiring President Ed Plaza, "and it doesn't really matter."

The complaints began as Village Administrator Jerry Sagona started a report on last Wednesday's meeting of the County Board's Transportation Committee.  A last-minute addition to the agenda was a call for Phase II design proposals, detailed instructions to rebuild the clogged Randall/Algonquin intersection to improve traffic flow.

LITH Board members assumed that meant the controversial CFI they and Algonquin trustees have rejected as economically unworkable.  "We don't want people to drive through Lake in the Hills," complained President-elect Paul Mulcahy.  "We want people to stop in Lake in the Hills.," he said. "We need the business."

Transportation Committee Vice-Chairman Paula Yensen, a former LITH Board member who's tried to keep communication open between the County and Village, insisted the CFI "is not a done deal." Nevertheless, trustees argued, McHenry County Division of Transportation planners have rejected every other alternative as being federally unfundable.

McHenry County Board Chairman Tina Hill put fixing the intersection at the top of her to-do list in her February State of the County address.  At the last votes, LITH trustees unanimously opposed a CFI and Algonquin trustees nixed it four to three.  Recently, though, thanks to back-channel communication, some County planners have expressed hope the Algonquin Board would change its collective mind.

"All we're asking you to do is join the conversation," Yensen told the LITH Board. 

"We're willing to go back and discuss this," said Trustee Ray Bogdanowski.  "But it's got to be a two-way discussion," he said.

FEN was unable to reach McHenry County transportation planners this morning for comment.

In the pic:  A diagram of a Continuous Flow Intersection now in operation in Salt Lake City.

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THIS WEEK'S HEADLINES
04/26/2013

LITH Board Outraged At Plans For New Intersection Design
MCC Lame Ducks Give Smith An Extra Year
Grafton Moves On Tardy Annual Audits
LITH Men Jailed On Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana Charges
State Provides Funding For Senior Home Healthcare
Obituaries
Police Blotters
New Fire Chief, Smaller Budget Revealed At ALFPD
Arbor Day Planting Augments EAB-Decimated Trees At Neubert
MCC Schedules Community Forum On "Key Initiatives"
Competing Governors Target Illinois Businesses
Obituaries
Police Blotters
Algonquin Gives Tentative Go-Ahead To River Road Luxury Homes
LITH Starts eWaste Collection Center
Algonquin Liquor Commission Settles On Fine For Restaurant
McHenry County Mental Health Board Starts Boss Search Over
Seniors To Get Bigger Prop Tax Break Next Year
Obituaries
Police Blotters
Duffy Gives Cold Should To D300 On Bus Cut Meet
Rookies Almost Fills Out Huntley Mini Restaurant Row
Huntley ComEd Reliability Line To Be Completed
Rain Not Expected To Raise Fox River Level
Obituaries
Police Blotters
Fox Flooding To Begin Slow Ebb Today
Clean And Green Day Waste Events Set Sat In Huntley
D300 Foundation Cultural Arts Show Will Be Friday
Fix For State Senior Homecare Funding Only Temporary
Obituaries
Police Blotters
Bianchi Special Prosecution Cost Rises To $1 Million Plus
Huntley St. Mary Church Opens New Addition
Local PD's Accepting Old Drugs In Take Back Day Saturday
IL AG Warns Against Bombing Charity Scams, Too
McHenry County Indictments
Police Blotters
Another McHenry County Judge Reported Under Investigation
"Save The Pennies And the Dollars Will Follow"
D158 OK's HHS Athletic Field Upgrade Part Two
State AG Warns Against "Storm Chaser" Repair Conmen
Police Blotters

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MCC Lame Ducks Give Smith An Extra Year
04/26/2013

As expected Thursday, the McHenry County College Board extended the employment contract for President Vicky Smith an extra year before swearing in three new Trustees who broadly ran against a Smith college expansion plan.

The vote to extend Smith's tenure to June 30, 2015 was five to two.  Had it been postponed, based on the opposition of trustees-elect to a proposed new education facility and public/private health club, the vote might have been three to four against. The conjectural outcome wasn't assured since incoming Trustee Chris Jenner said, “I don’t believe any of us have passed judgment on Dr. Smith.”

June 15 was the actual deadline for a decision on another year for Smith but holdover Trustee Linda Liddell argued new board members couldn't reach a good decision in such a short time.  Trustee Ron Parrish, later elected new President of the Board, demurred but the lame ducks voted down his motion to postpone the extension vote.

In the pic:  After an important vote from which they were excluded, outgoing MCC Board Presdient Mary Miller swore in (l to r) new Trustees Chris Jenner, Tom Wilbeck and Molly Walsh.

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Grafton Moves On Tardy Annual Audits
04/26/2013

There were smiles and in-joke chuckles Thursday at a Special Meeting of the Grafton Township Board which finally approved an annual audit for fiscal year 2010-11 and OK'ed work to begin on the ones for 11-12 and 12-13.

After trustees battling Supervisor Linda Moore refused to formally accept the 09-10 report last year, auditor Paul Thermen resigned the account before completing the 10-11 one.  However, Moore Thursday said he was willing to unresign now so the Board voted to accept the review.

Moore warned trustees that new legislation as of May 1 calls for up to $20 per day penalty if audits are tardy being filed with the State Comptroller's office. Later she told FEN the new law wasn't specific to Grafton, that, according to Comptroller officials, "hundreds" of audits around the state are late.

The Board OK'ed Crystal Lake Accountant George Roach to conduct the past-due 2011-12 review and the soon-due 2012-13 books, too.  Earlier, the Board chose Roche to do the 11-12 audit but he told them he couldn't before Thermen completed the 10-11 edition.

According to gossip the logjam-breaking Special Meeting was prompted by Supervisor-elect, businessman, Jim Kearns. Thursday he refused to claim credit for it, though.  "We need to move ahead," was all he'd say.  "We have audits and budgets to get done."

In the pic: Supervisor Linda Moore told the Grafton Board annual audits would probably be up to date by late May.

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Competing Governors Target Illinois Businesses
04/26/2013

Suddenly the nation's governors have declared open season on hunting Illinois companies.  Monday Texas Governor Rick Perry came to Chicago  saying he wanted to start a competition between the two states, one he expected to win thanks to Illinois' nearly $100 billion in pension debt.  Tuesday and Wednesday Illinois' top 100 companies began receiving a letter from Florida Gov. Rick Scott asking them to buy a "one way" ticket to Florida claiming Sunshine State is experiencing "an incredible economic turnaround" thanks to better credit ratings than Illinois.

Governors from Wisconsin, Indiana and New Jersey have, likewise, sought to lure Illinois businesses into pulling up stakes.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn dismissed them all Monday as publicity attempts saying Illinois is a great place to do business. Quinn shrugged off the pension mess, the worst state credit rating in the nation, top-third personal and corporate income taxes and a 9.5 percent unemployment rate.

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford warned attempts by other states to poach Illinois businesses ought to sound an alarm in Springfield.  "We need to improve our business climate so we can better retain and attract businesses.  We have some issues now, as highlighted by Gov. Perry, and we should make every effort to create a better environment where businesses can thrive right here in Illinois,” he said.

In the pic:  Rick Perry is just one of several governors trying to bag an Illinois business to mount over the mantel.

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Obituaries
04/26/2013

Marie (Fillipowa) Oparyk, 87, of Sycamore, formerly of Algonquin, died Wednesday, of heart and kidney disease.  Visitation will be today from 4 to 8 pm at Wait Ross Allanson Funeral & Cremation Services Chapel, Algonquin. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Algonquin, Friday at 2:30 pm. Burial will follow at St. John Nepomucene Church Cemetery in Fox River Grove.

Oparyk was born Aug. 27, 1925, in the Ukraine, the daughter of the late Wasyl and Anna (Urwaczdwa) Fillipowa. She married Tymofi "Tony" Oparyk May 15, 1945. and came to the United States in 1949. Survivors include her children, Astrid (Benny) Wood of Baton Rouge, LA, Nicholas (Jarla) Oparyk of Cary and Andrew (Elizabeth) Oparyk of Sycamore, and grandchildren, Shellie (Trent) Leach, Stella Wood, Kristina (Scott) Stuckel and Kayla (Randy) Sheridan, Candace, Henry, Natalie and Robert Mallin.

The family requests memorials to be made to The American Heart Association on her behalf.

John Szymich, 96, formerly of Algonquin, died Sunday, at the Elizabeth Nursing Home in Elizabeth, IL. A visitation will held be from 11 am until celebration of Mass at Noon Friday at St. Margaret Mary Church, Algonquin. Interment will be in St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles.

Szymich was born Feb. 24, 1917, in Luzino, Poland, to Jan and Josephina (nee Arndt) Szymich. He immigrated to the United States in 1949 and married Pauline Stachyra July 5, 1952, in Blue Island. He is survived by his daughter, Christine (Dennis) Harris of Galena. He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, a brother, and a sister.

Memorials may be directed to The A to Z Literacy Movement, Crystal Lake.

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Police Blotters
04/26/2013

The filing of charges is not proof of guilt. A defendant charged is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lake in the Hills
April 24
1838 HRS 4500 BLOCK OF PRINCETON LN. DISORDERLY CONDUCT. FERRERA, ANDREW J., M/W 32 YEARS OF AGE, 3021 BRAEBURN WAY, WOODSTOCK. CHARGES: Disorderly Conduct. NOTICE TO APPEAR ISSUED.
1218 HRS 250 N. RANDALL (COSTCO). HIT & RUN. Vehicle was struck in parking lot by unknown vehicle. PENDING INVESTIGATION.
Huntley
April 16
Two students reported their unsecured iPhones were stolen from the boys locker room at Huntley High School.
A retail theft report was taken at a business in the 9900 block of Rt. 47. Baby formula was stolen from the store’s shelves.
A criminal damage to vehicle report was taken in a business parking lot in the 13300 block of Village Green. The rear window of the vehicle was broken.
A theft report was taken in the 10800 block of Sawgrass Ln. Cash was stolen from the residence.
April 17
Henry C. Meyer, age 85, of 11466 Primrose, Huntley, was arrested for DUI, improper lane use and illegal transportation of alcohol. Mr. Meyer posted bond and was released with a McHenry County court date of May 17, 2013.
April 18
A student at Huntley High School reported that her iPod was stolen. The student inadvertently left it in a classroom.When she returned it was gone.
April 19
Cody W. Gano, age 24, of 10484 Beaver Dam, Huntley, was arrested on an outstanding McHenry County warrant for failure to appear in court and was charged with possession of cannabis. Mr. Gano posted bond and was released with McHenry County court dates of May 28, 2013. and May 17, 2013.
A 17 year-old boy from Huntley was arrested for disorderly conduct at Huntley High School. The juvenile was released to his mother and will be petitioned into McHenry County juvenile court.
April 20
Anthony J. Monteleone, age 25, of 39W374 Grand Ave., Elgin, was arrested for DUI and speeding. Mr. Monteleone posted bond and was released with a McHenry County court date of May 17, 2013.
A criminal damage to vehicle report was taken in the 11100 block of Grove St. The tires on the driver’s side of the vehicle were damaged.
Alexandria T. Silva, age 19, of 3532 Blue Ridge Ct., Carpentersville, was arrested for an outstanding Ogle County warrant for possession of controlled substance. In addition, Ms. Silva was charged with possession of cannabis, operation of an uninsured motor vehicle, and speeding. Ms. Silva posted bond and was released with an Ogle county court date of May 10, 2013, and a McHenry County court date of May 13, 2013.
April 21
A theft report was taken in the 10400 block of Casselberry North. A check was stolen from the residence and then used fraudulently.
A criminal damage to vehicle report was taken in the 11400 block of Algonquin Rd. The rear window of a vehicle was damaged.
A criminal damage to vehicle report was taken in the 9800 block of Wakefield Dr. A rock was used to break the front window of the vehicle.

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Algonquin Gives Tentative Go-Ahead To River Road Luxury Homes
04/26/2013

The Algonquin Village Board gave a greenish light Tuesday to annexing and rezoning a high-end property development on River Road northeast of Starr Drive that it rejected four years ago.  Even when trustees formally pass a measure as early as next week, it will only be to continue working out details on the riverine development featuring 26 homes in the $700,000 range.

In 2009 the Board nixed a 17-home development called Riverwoods on the Fox for not tying in to Village utilities and poor street layouts.  Tuesday, with roughly double the acreage but only 10 more homes, developer Greg Pantos told the Board the renamed River Edge Estates had fixed all that, at least probably. Pantos said some of the solutions depended on completion of another developer's project planned to be built to the South.

Neighbors complained the development would exacerbate already horrible traffic on River Road and, given the current state of the Fox, make water runoff problems worse.  Pantos said if the second development actually gets built there'd be more ways for traffic to leave or bypass the area and a new detention pond would improve runoff problems.

"Developing this project is going to benefit our East side and maybe Downtown as well," was Trustee Jim Steigert's conclusion.

"I have a big concern if (the other project doesn't) go though you may have too many cul-de-sacs," countered Trustee Debbie Sosine.

On the premise that there'd still be plenty of time to stop things later, the Board essentially told Pantos he could keep working on it.  Assuming eventual final approval Pantos told FEN construction wouldn't begin "realistically, until next year."

In the pic: (above) The proposed L-shaped River Edge Estates would include 10 homes in the top section and 15 in the lower one.  (below)  Semi-custom homes would all be designed in a sort of Germanic brick and stone idiom.

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