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THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER S E R V I N G T H E C H A I N - O - L A K E S R E G I O N S I N C E 1 8 7 5 " Petition Is Invalid VOLUME 105 NUMBER 60 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1981 1 SECTION 18 PAGES 25' City Needs Get Lion's Share Of '81 Revenue By Anthony Oliver In a year marked by severe budget cut*, the "needs of the city" were ad­ judged to be the most important by members of the Finance committee, which met Monday night. The committee was charged with developing a recommendation for the disbursement of revenue sharing funds totalling $207,144 Seven of the eight committee- recommended revenue- sharing The Washington scene, always of interest to a segment of the population, has all eyes turning its way with the announcement from the President that some belt tightening is in order. The scalpel, always a mean looking instrument, becomes even more so as it threatens our own personal "sacred cows ".It's okay to reduce funds for someone else's "cow" but not our own. With billions of dollars and the health of the economy at stake, the scalpel is being suggested for the spending programs that have large numbers benefitting but little justification. To believe that the job will be easy, or will win friends, is simply not being realistic. Any attempt to tamper with the funding of "sacred cows" is sure to ignite ill tempers. Take, for example, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, two programs that in the grand scheme of things would be considered inoffensive and cost rdatively little. But according to some accusations, the endowment agencies have lost sight of their mission and the funding is considerably off center. One of the memorable cases con­ cerned a husband-wife team that was commissioned to photograph crepe paper as it streamed from an aircraft. Certainly not all of the grants would be considered such an obvious waste of money, but apparently the President feels there are enough to justify a (Continued on page 16) requests involved city projects, i.e. the dredging of Boone creek, the purchase of a street sweeper, mosquito abatement, water and sewer system improvements, underground gas tanks, funds for two police cars and the road program. From nine requests from outside groups for revenue sharing funds, only one, the McHenry Area Rescue squad, received the support of the Finance committee. Finance committee chairman Jack Pepping asked committee members and those councilmen present to rank the requests in order of importance and discuss the relative merits of each request. When the "prioritizing" was com­ plete, the purchase of a street sweeper ( $58,056) was rated most important, the Rescue squad ($5,000) was second, the dredging of Boone creek ($45,000) third, the mosquito abatement program ($25,000) fourth, the water and sewer system improvements ($15,000) fifth, the gas tanks ($15,000) sixth, two police cars ($20,000) seventh and the road program ($24,088) eighth. There was "not much sympathy" expressed for those groups garnering funds from a number of different sources, like the Historical society, Youth Service Bureau, McHenry Alternative high school, Easter Seals society and the Senior Citizens council. Alderman Michael Wieser said, "The Historical society gathers money from a lot of sources, I'd like to see that scratched from the list." Likewise, Alderman Edward Datz said support was nil for the Alternative high school and the Youth Service Bureau. "We understand their plight/' Mayor Joseph Stanek said, "but. we have a city to run." In the same vein, the Senior Citizens council received little support from those present. Alderman Harker said. "I don't doubt that there are old, lonely, and poor people, but they can't get to the facility." Alderman Ronald Meurer pointed out that at the last revenue sharing meeting, a donation was made to the council which was intended to be for a full year Mayor Stanek noted that those funds had been earmarked for use at the McHenry center only, but some had been diverted. Pepping noted that several years ago, the Chamber of Commerce was to donate money for the development of Petersen park, but never did. "It doesn't make sense to donate revenue sharing money and have them give it back," Pepping said Pepping suggested that the Chamber might underwrite the City's cost in Fiesta Days as their donation. When Alderman Vincent Adams raised the question of the library request. Pepping said, "The furthest we could go would be to show some leniency in what they owe." The library owes the city ap­ proximately $15,000. A request from the Park and Recreation department for swim team equipment met with little support from the councilmen present. "I simply don't see the need for all this equipment in the first year," Alderman Datz said. A number of requests were pared before receiving the support of the committee. The traffic program request was originally $65,000 but that was cut to $24,088 The sewer and water program was cut in half because much of the estimated $30,000 cost was labor, which could be done by city employees. The remaining $15,000 was for the actual purchase of equipment to upgrade the system. It was further noted that surplus funds from the 1980-81 fiscal year could be used to cover the cost of the improvement program The Police department had asked for revenue sharing funds for the purchase of four police cars, but the request was cut from $32,800 to $20,000. Pepping said, "I think this does address the needs of the city and we have a Finance committee recom­ mendation." The recommendations are expected to come up for council approval at the March 2 meeting. MEET CORRESPONDENTS In an effort to better acquaint readers with neighborhood correspondents, pictures and brief resumes of the writers will be appearing in the Plaindealer The first of the biographical sketches appears in this issue, featuring \ Margaret Karas.* author of the Lakemoor-Lilymoor column The City of McHenry has filed a motion in 19th .Judicial Circuit court asking Judge Leonard Rrody to vacate his earlier decision regarding the Schooley Serritella petition con troversy I^ast week. .Judge Rrody ruled that the candidate petition of Cecilia Serritella for alderman)in NlcHenry's fourth ward was invalid because the description of the office sought was not sufficient The Serritella petition simply said "Alderman" in the office sought' portion of the independent candidate petition * At the hearing. City Attorney Rer- nard Narusis argued that no one had been misled as to what office was being sought Representing the incumbent. Alderman Schooley. Attorney John Licastro said the court should uphold the letter of the law The court ruled in favor of Schoolev The new motion for rehearing and vacation of the earlier decision is based on the premise that the petition of Alderman Ernest Schooley is invalid for precisely the same reason -- it only says that the office sought is that of "Alderman The petition does not specify the ward The court will decide whether to stand by its previous decision, in which case Ms Serritella s name would not appear on the ballot, or. reverse the decision in light of the same error on the Schooley petition In that event. Ms Serritella would become a certified candidate If the court stands by the Feb 19 decision in favor of Schooley. Ms Serritella has the option of appealing to a higher court, or waging a write-in campaign If the decision is reversed. Schooley has the option of appealing Mm-Mm Good! "Too good to pass up"- that seems to be the opionion expressed by Karen and Connie Klotz as they sample some of the Girl Scout cookies they will be selling throughout this week. The annual cookie sale opened Friday. Feb. 20, and continues through Feb. 28. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Warriors 15th Victory Win Over Dundee Page 6 . Miss Illinois-USA McHenry Girl Semi-finalist Page 2^ j School Honor Rolls Name Top Students Page 12 County Zoning Decisions Supported SHAW MEDIA NEWS SERVICE An Appellate court decision handed down earlier this month has affirmed trial decisions upholding the Land Use plan and Zoning ordinance of McHenry county. The decision in the Second District Appellate court supports trial judgments of two 19th Circuit court justices. Roland Herrmann and associate Haskell Pitluck • The first suit involved a decision of the County board to deny a zoning request from Paul and Laila Wilson involving a 76-acre parcel in Green­ wood township The Wilsons sought to change the zoning classification of their property from "A 1" Agricultural to "E-l" Estate in order to develop the property as a residential area. The trial court found that the Wilsons had failed to show that the proposed use of the property for residential purposes was "reasonable .". The Appellate court affirmed this decision saying that the Wilsons did not show the county zoning ordinance to be arbitrary, unreasonable and without substantial relation to the public health, welfare and safety The second suit involved a 176-acre parcel belonging to Wesley and Delphine Voss. near Marengo, which was contracted to be sold to Edward and Delores Neveu who sought to develop the land as residential The board denied the rezoning and the trial court found in favor of the board, saymg that the plaintiffs had not shown the ordinance to be arbitrary and unreasonable "While there are factual differences, the predominant factors in both appeals are the predominantly agricultural nature of the surrounding area and the objective of McHenry County to promote the public interest by preserving prime farm land and fun- neling residential development toward existing urban centers." the higher court said The Director of the McHenry County Planning department. Steve Aradas. said the decisions recognize the validity of the land use plan and the zoning ordinance. Aradas said the decision validates the idea that there is room for conservation of agricultural land and growth in a county land use plan He added that the plan was never intended to be a no-growth document and takes into account a growth projection of 100.000 by the vear 2.000 Council Works To Resolve Flood Insurance Problem By Anthony Oliver The McHenry City Council will be talking to representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in an attempt to resolve the flood insurance situation in McHenry At the last council meeting. John Shay, emergency services and disaster agency coordinator, said as things stand at this time, flood insurance has not been available in McHenry since Nov 19, 1980. "I just want to make certain you realize the implications of letting the program lapse," Shay said "The bottom line is that there is no flood insurance available in McHenry " Shay reported that the president of a local financial institution had told him that they (the lenders) would have to start calling in mortgages on any home that lies in the flood plain City Attorney Bernard Narusis challenged the statement saying, "I don't want to create a panic I'm not aware that a lending institution is obligated to call back a mortgage. The institution only has to inform a potential buyer that the property is in a flood plain area and that insurance is not available Nothing says they have to call a mortgage -v The federally subsidized flood in­ surance program fell by the way on Nov 19, 1980. because of a disagreement between the city's engineering firm Baxter and Wood­ man. and the Corps of Engineers over the extent of the flood plain along Boone creek The differences in the vertical flood plain ranged from six inches to two feet in some areas, primarily near Bonner drive Mayor Joseph Stanek said. The Corps of Engineers insist that the vertical flood plain is a foot and-a half higher than our engineers say This makes too many properties unsalable We insist we are right and they won t budge " According to Narusis. the Corps of Engineers used statistical "guess­ timates" to ascertain the vertical height of the plain, while Baxter and Woodman used recorded data A representative of the city engineering firm said they used the highest flood of record and information for the last 27 years in making their determination • The Corps says that isn't long enough.' the spokesman said As originally presented, the "carrot" of the program is federally subsidized flood insurance, while the "stick" would require that the city be the en­ forcer In order to participate, the city would (Continued on page 16) C o u r t A c t i o n City Charges Schooley STAFF PHOTOS-WAYNE GAYLORD Following A Dream KEITH BELZER By Anthony Oliver Ixwking for a way to do something unique within the system, MCHS senior Keith Belzer researched, wrote and directed a play, which was staged last month at West campus. Belzer also played one of the leading roles. "I wanted to do something different," Belzer said. "It was a way to learn by doing something unique and I have an interest in theater and drama." The play was a courtroom drama based upon the renowned Leopold and Ix>eb trial in Chicago in the early part of the century Leopold and Loeb were two students who kidnaped and killed a youth, "more or less for the excitement of it - to see if they could get away with it," according to Belzer The play was centered around the trial and Belzer's character was based upon that of Clarence Darrow. the defense attorney. According to Belzer. researching the play took nearly two months, most of which was spent in the library at Northern Illinois University (NIU). The actual writing took nearly eight months, he noted. "I wrote about half of it during the summer and the other half during class time," Belzer commented From here, Belzer plans to attend college, either at Knox in Galesburg, or DePauw in Indiana His intended major is law, although Belzer did say he would like to stay with drama and theater while in school Looking ahead, Belzer commented that he would like to get into politics, perhaps reaching for a seat in the Senate