Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-2

2 CHICAGO TRIBUNE METRO SECTION2 Phil Jurik, bureau chief 18450 Crossing Drive, Suite A Tinley Park, IL 60477 Call: 708-342-5600 Fax: 708-342-2790 Or e-mail: HOW TO CONTACT US headquarters and gallery were moved to a smaller downtown Barrington site one-third the size of its old office space. Already understaffed, workers took pay cutsand a print newsletter was scrapped and later reinvented online. In the last decade, membership has declined from about 500 to 200. Fundraising efforts and membership drives enough to meet the financial commitments for the coming year, Leifel said. had some very generous donors over the years, but it enough, and you just keep going back to the same said Leifel, who has volunteered with the council for 12 years.

we want to do is cut the programs, and when we realized that was the only option left, we made a tough Terry Scrogum, executive director of the Illinois Arts Council, said that for the last two years, the same 35 councils have By Amber Ellis Tribune staff reporter Backed by the Barrington Area Arts Council for the last 12 years, nearly 50 developmentally disabled adults from a McHenry life-skills center would spend the better part of five months preparing for the musical performance of their lives at the Woodstock Opera House. But as news spread Monday afternoon that the council would close its doors at the end of the month, officials at the Pio- neer Center for Human Services began contemplating how they would find another sponsor for next art programs. really know what do at this point. shocked and said Catherine Cox, spokeswoman for the center, which has received $900 a year from the arts council. gives them a chance to express themselves and really shine artistically in a way that they may not be able to do That disappointment is shared by longtime arts council supporters, board members and volunteers, said council President Gregory Leifel.

Citing a decline in community support and membership, he said the 30- year-old organization fell short of the $200,000 needed to keep the council up and running. Faced with an uncertain future and foreseeable financial restrictions, members started looking for ways to cut costs a few years ago, Leifel said. The applied for financial assistance, making the Barrington closing uncommon. time an arts organization closes its doors, certainly a void in that Scrogum said. Financial stability is difficult for any non-profit organization, and the arts community is no exception, said Marcia Palazzolo, a member and past president of the Oak Park Arts League.

With the help of local businesses and grants, the league has remained open since 1921. Around 1940, members decided to buy the building where the group is housed today, eliminating rental costs and creating stability. blessing is that we have the Palazzolo said. had some expensive heating bills, but just had to learn to budget for that. There are always surprises, but we manage.

enough interest, and if there is a problem, somebody will come up with a From a Day art fair to exhibits that include artwork or showcase vocal and written expression, the Barrington Area Arts Council has been a suburban staple for three decades. At some point, most residents have had children or grandchildren involved in council-sponsored activities. That connection is part of what Leifel said he hopes will revitalize art awareness. a very sad thing for the community that is going he said. do hope in the future somebody realizes how badly needed this is, and maybe they can run it a little more efficiently and have some funding in place before they Resident Joyce Palmquist was saddened by the news.

think sometimes we take things for granted and we really understand the value they bring to the community until Tribune photo by Stacey Wescott Bobby Joe sculpture which sits in front of the Barrington library, is an example of a project underwritten by the Barrington Area Arts Council. Cash-strapped arts council to close By William Presecky Tribune staff reporter Kane County transportation officials are lining up behind an effort by Metra to secure the federal funding needed to greatly improve capacity and speed on its Union Pacific West line between Chicago and Elburn. The 44-mile commuter rail line, which serves 62 communities in Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties, handles about 29,000 passenger trips a day on 59 trains. The aim of the proposed $441 million upgrade is to allow service to expand to as many as 80 trains a day and to increase the number of express trains from 20 to 30 daily. A resolution endorsing the proposed commuter option for the west suburban corridor was forwarded Monday to the Kane County Board with the unanimous recommendation of its Transportation Committee.

The growth in residential development and job centers in Kane and DuPage has generated increased demand for commuter rail service in the region. The major rail improvements being proposed include signal system upgrades, additional track and restructuring the line in Chicago where it intersects the Milwaukee West line, Milwaukee North line and North Central line. The crossing is the busiest in northeastern Illinois, Metra officials said. The slower travel times on the UP-West line cause many commuters in its service area to opt for travel on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line to its south for faster express service. Public hearings on the proposed upgrade were held this month in Elmhurst and Geneva.

Construction is expected to take four years to complete after funding is authorized. Kane panel backs plan to upgrade Metra route Chicago-Elburn line would add service vorce case was dismissed by a judge after Craig attorney argued that it would be difficult to proceed without Lisa Stebic and that the cost of pursuing a divorce would be high for both parties. Greenberg said the children are staying with Craig sister in Iowa. Lisa family has repeatedly asked her husband to be more forthcoming with police. Craig Stebic has denied interview requests for him and the children on the advice of his attorney, Dion Davi.

need to get to the bottom of this mystery one way or Greenberg said. why asking Craig to cooperate with police and let the children be STEBIC: Plainfield police back use of ads CONTINUEDFROMPAGE1 By Jason Meisner and Karoun Demirjian Tribune staff reporters City health inspectors Monday shut down the food court on the lower level of State Street store after finding an infestation of fruit flies and several other health violations. The inspection of the Market- Place food court was a follow-up to a report phoned in to the 311 center by a customer who complained of illness after eating a pre-packaged salad at the food court within the last two weeks, said Tim Hadac, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Public Health. On Monday, the lower-level food court at 111 N. State St.

was found to have a fruit-fly infestation; a leaking three-compartment sink; waste water backing up from a clogged floor and a poorly maintained inside trash area, where grease and food debris were found on the floor and walls around a receptacle, according to the department. On July 16, Health Department officials found several violations and issued the restaurant a fine and a warning, Hadac said. They returned Monday for a re-inspection and found even more violations, he said. only did they not do anything, the problems seemed to get Hadac said. was a surprising and disappointing lack of adherence to basic food safety regulation.

We stopped counting fruit flies when they hit Jennifer McNamara, spokeswoman, said the Market- Place food court and adjoining Starbucks coffee store were closed at 1:30 p.m. Monday. None of the department other eateries, including the famed Walnut Room on the 7th floor, was affected. will remain closed for cleaning and general McNamara said. intend to reopen tomorrow.

We are fully committed to maintaining high standards with our food McNamara said passing a re- inspection is number one A cleaning service has been hired to assist with the cleanup, she said. hands are on she said. The food court will remain closed until its management has corrected the violations and passed re-inspection, Hadac said. There have been no other reports of illness at MarketPlace, Hadac said. Tribune reporter Mary Owen contributed to this report.

food court shut down Fruit fly infestation among violations By Helen Eckinger Tribune staff reporter Two Chicago men have been charged in a gruesome, drug-related 2005 kidnapping and murder in which the victim was held for more than two months before he was repeatedly stabbed, prosecutors said Monday. Jesus Sandoval, 23, is already serving a 9-year sentence in state prison for an unrelated 2006 conviction for drug dealing. Co-defendant Alfonso Ochoa, also 23, is in custody awaiting trial in the same drug case. The two have been charged in the kidnapping and murder of Nelson Vergara, 52, of Chicago, who was beaten and forced into a van outside his home in the 2500 block of North Major Avenue on Aug. 29, 2005.

His naked body was found stuffed in a luggage bag in an empty lot in the 5600 block of South Hermitage Avenue on Nov. 2, 2005, authorities said. He had been stabbed at least 80 times and had ligature marks on his forearms and neck, indicating he had bound and strangled, said Assistant Atty. Bill Delaney. The medical examiner concluded that Vergara died from multiple stab wounds.

Last April, Delaney said, a confidential informant linked Sandoval and Ochoa to the kidnapping and murder. Sandoval allegedly told police that he and a drug-dealer friend, identified only as by prosecutors, planned to kidnap Vergara and hold him for ransom for stealing 100 kilos of cocaine from Gerardo in 2000, Delaney said. Over the next weeks, Sandoval told police, he and Ochoa moved Vergara to four separate apartments, Delaney said. Sandoval claimed he and Ochoa were not present for the murder but that they cleaned up the crime scene and disposed of the body, Delaney said. Delaney declined to comment on whether additional defendants could be charged.

Chicago men charged in kidnapping, death Product: CTMETRO PubDate: 07-24-2007 Zone: SSW Edition: HD Page: 2-2 User: rhochgesang Time: Color: CMYK.