Freeport Journal-Standard from Freeport, Illinois • Page 1

Weather Outlook Sunny, Warmer Tuesday (Details on page 10) JOURNAL- 127th Year, 20 pages Freeport, Illinois, Monday, April 15, 1974 Courthouse Demolition IS Cents A Circuit Court judge from Winnebago County this morning denied a petition for a temporary injunction to halt demolition or the vacant Stephenson County Courthouse. The injunction for a 100-day hold had been sought by the Landmark Association of Stephenson County in a final effort to save the century-old building. Judge John Layrig of the 17th Judicial Circuit, ruling on the injunction petition said he had "a great feeling for historical landmarks and this part of the country. It's where I've lived since I was young. "But as far as the law, this action Government Releases New Crime Survey WASHINGTON (AP) As many as half of the crimes in the nation's five biggest cities are not being reported, according to a new government survey- And Donald E.

Santarelli, administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, says the disclosure carries "a strong message of public apathy justice institutions bordering on contempt." According to the released Sunday, the crime rate is five times as high as police records show in Philadelphia, nearly three times as high in Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles, and a little more than twice as high in New York. "The crime survey results demonstrate, that in an astounding number of instances Americans simply do not think it is worthwhile to report to public authorities that they have been the victim of criminal acts," said Santarelli. the survey was conducted by the LEA A and the Census Bureau as part of a $10million-ayear project to measure crime. An earlier study indicated that crime is twice as high as reported in Atlanta, Baltimore, las, Newark, St. Louis, Denver and Portland, Ore.

The latest study involved the 'questioning of persons in about 25,000 households and 10,000 businesses in the five cities during 1973. Those questioned were asked whether they had been raped, robbed, burglarized or assaulted during 1972 and if so, whether they had reported the crime to police. Of those who did not report crimes 34 per cent said it was because of lack of proof or they felt nothing could be done. Twenty eight per cent did not consider the crime important enough to report and others said they did not want to be bothered, it was a personal matter, it was too inconvenient or they were afraid of reprisal. For all five cities, the report said, there was a total of 3.1 million crimes committed in 1972.

By comparison FBI statistics, compiled from local police agencies, listed 1.1 million crimes in-the cities. According to the study, 68 of every 1,000 Detroit residents are likely to be victims of serious crime. It said the rates were 63 per 1,000 for Philadelphia, 56 per 1,000 for Chicago, 53 per 1,000 for Los Angeles and 36 per 1,000 for New York. News Roundup Laun 'Out Of Danger' From Wounds CORDOBA, Argentina (AP) Doctors declared U.S. Information Service chief more than 72 hoursi after Marxist guerrillas shot him in the sttnhach; kidnaped him and abandoned him Doctors said they will decide in the next 48 hours whether it is convenient to transfer Laun to Buenos Aires.

Two More 'Zebra' Shootings On Coast SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Two hitchhiking teen-agers were critically wounded in what police say was the latest in a series of senseless shootings. Eleven persons have been killed in random attacks since November. Homicide Inspector Frank Falzon said the shootings Sunday night were "most definitely" linked to the so-called Operation Zebra shootings. Zebra is the police code for 15 shootings which caused the 11 deaths over the five-month period and set off the largest manhunt in the city's history. Special Michigan Election Tuesday SAGINAW, before Tuesday's congressional election, Republican candidate James Sparling says he doesn't have the "foggiest notion" what effect President Nixon's campaign appearance will have on the outcome.

"In the end, people are going to vote for the guy who best represents their viewpoint," he said in an interview Sunday. But his Democratic opponent, Bob Traxler, put his campaign emphasis on the line by saying, "I don't owe Nixon a thing, and Sparling does. I'm not part of the Washington gang." Nixon visited Michigan's rural and generally Republican 8th District last Wednesday. By all odds, the contest figures to be a race to the Wire. It will be the fifth special congressional election this year in heavily Republican districts.

Democrats have won in three. Prices May Affect Food Stamp Program WASHINGTON (AP) A congressional staff study says rising food prices over the next two years may result in making one out of every four Americans eligible for government food stamps. This would push program costs from the current $3 billion annually to a possible $10 billion, according to a staff study prepared for the Senate-House Economic Committee. The study was released Sunday by Rep. Martha W.

Griffiths, chairman of the joint committee's fiscal policy subcommittee. Israeli, Syrian Fighting Reported Heavy TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israeli fighter-bombers attacked Syrian forces on Mt. Hermon and the Golan Heights for hours on Easter Sunday, while below them the two armies battled fiercely with tanks and artillery. It was the heaviest air and ground action in the Middle East since the October war. Israel said all its planes returned safely, denying a Syrian claim that four were downed.

Syria claimed 50 Israeli ground troops were killed or wounded, but Israel admitted only 17 wounded. Syria said 15 of its soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded. U.N. Council Meets On Mideast Raids UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (AP) -The United Nations Security Council was called into session this afternoon to discuss the Israeli raid on six Lebanese villages Friday night.

The raid was in retaliation for an Arab guerrilla attack from Lebanon last Thursday on the Israeli village of Qiryat Shmonah in which 18 Israelis and the three guerrillas died. Lebanon told the council "two Lebanese civilians were killed and others wounded, 13 Lebanese civilians were kidnaped and 31 houses destroyed" in the Israeli raid. The council was expected to adopt a resolution later in the week condemning Israel, but Israel was expected to ignore it. Flooding Widespread In Mississippi HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -Thousands of people were temporarily homeless today after flooding caused widespread evacuation throughout southern Mis- sissippi.

Seven people died in the weekend floods fueled by torrential rains which began Friday and continued nonstop through Sunday, ranging up to more than 16 inches in areas. Bridges were washed away and many roads were closed. The National Guard was called out to help with evacuations in Columbia and Hattiesburg, and a state civil defense spokesman in Jackson said the number of persons evacuated probably would approach 3,000. No major rains were predicted for the area through Tuesday, but some rivers had not yet crested. Major Steel Agreement Signed Today WASHINGTON (AP) About 50,000 steel workers are to benefit from $31 million in back wages to be paid out under an industry-wide plan for ending racial and sex discrimination in employment.

The agreement, resulting from lengthy industry-government negotiations, was to be formalized with the signing of a consent decree in U.S. District Court by officials of nine major steel firms. The vol- untary.agreement is believed to mark the country's first industrywide equal employment program and could set a pattern for similar programs in other industries. has been taken by duly-elected officials. I don't see how, one judge, can change what they have already decided.

I don't think I have any choice in the matter. It was out of my hands before it reached the court." Construction workers at the Courthouse square said the crane to be used for demolition should be opei-able Tuesday. Work to remove the cornerstone was undertaken this morning. A new $1,650,000 courthouse will be erected on the courthouse square after the.old building is razed. The Stephenson County Public Building Commission will erect the structure and rent it to the county.

John J. McCuliough, of Rockford, attorney for plaintiffs Mrs. Edna Viola Schilling and the Landmark Associ- ne tion Denied ation, based his arguments before Judge Layng on "the people's right, the people's obligation to influence their elected representatives." He pointed to petitions circulated by the Landmark Association to save the courthouse which received 7,572 signatures, over a quarter of the registered voters in the county. John Garrity, attorney for the Public Building Commission, argued that opponents of a new courthouse had had ample opportunity to express their opinions while action was proceeding. His main point, however, was that no bond was being posted by the plaintiffs, and the aggregate defendants stood to lose $2,000 to $3,000 each day the project was delayed.

The original defendants in the case, the Public Building Commission and the project's general contractor, Cheeseman Construction were joined by the entity Stephenson County when Judge Layng allowed McCuliough to call witnesses to support his claims. The injunction petition sought to stay destruction, claiming: -The civil rights and rights of petition and redress of Mrs. Schilling and the Landmark Association had been violated. -The Public Building Commission was not properly constituted in that members had not filed statements of economic interest by the proper date. -The courthouse has special architectural and historical significance.

The defense, represented primarily by Garrity, contended that a bond of a quarter million to a half million dollars should be posted against losses which would be suffered by all defendants if the project was held up. Judge Layng said that the plaintiff's contention that the building commission was improperly constituted should be taken up with the state's attorney and would not enter in the decision. He declined to rule on the historical significance of the building, which is listed in a federal registry of historical sites. Layng said he would hear witnesses on whether the Landmark Association or Mrs. Schilling, 89, who has lived in Freeport since 1916, were denied their rights.

(Continued on Page 4) Crime in the Nation's five largest Cities 1972 Crwwl lieitats by Typt Illinois Legislators Reconvene Tuesday SPRINGFIELD, 111. (AP) A vote in the Illinois House this week probably will determine whether the legislature is going to consider non-budget matters in the spring session. The vote may come Tuesday, the first day of a 10-week spring session for both chambers of the General Assembly. The House Rules committee meets late today to decide what should be discussed this session. Staff aides to House Speaker W.

Robert Blair, R- Park Forest, said the committee probably will leave it to the entire House membership to vote on the spring session ground rules. Senate President William C. Harris, R-Pontiac, and Minority Leader Cecil Partee, D-Chicago, have each said they favor limiting the topics for the session to state budget bills and a few "emergency" matters. But the leaders of the House say they are feeling pressure from several of the 177 members who want to open the session to a variety of topics such as the Equal Rights Amendment, no- fault automobile insurance and new horse racing laws. Many lawmakers, the leaders agree, want to be able to tell their constituents they sponsored legislation to benefit their districts in this election year.

The House and Senate each met two weeks ago, and hundreds of bills, nearly half of them measures dealing with items other than the state budget, were introduced. A group of 21 legislators asked Gov. Daniel Walker and the leaders of both chambers to call a special session this spring on measures to revise the recently-approved Regional Transportation Authority. The RTA was approved by less than 15,000 votes of 1.2 million cast on March 19. It was soundly defeated in the five outlying suburbs of the northeastern Illinois district, but passed due to.

a 200,000 vote margin in Cook County. The legislators said they will make RTA a "gigantic issue" this fall if the special session request is rejected, and have acknowledged that the change they would like to see the most would allow the five suburbs to geT out of the taxing district. Mrs. Wiegand, Smith Win HCC Posts Mrs. Valeria Wiegand, 1205 S.

Bur. chard and incumbent Frederick G. Smith, Pearl City Road, were elected in a close race for two positions on the Highland Community College Board of Trustees Saturday. Mrs. Wiegand will replace Board Chairman Robert J.

Rimington, 1324 Elizabeth Circle, who finished fourth. Rimington served on the board since it was organized in 1967. Mrs. Wiegand received 2,889 votes and Smith received 2,811. Wayne Hutchison, 1615 S.

Carroll finished 16 votes behind Smith with 2,795 votes. Rimington had 2,624 votes. The canvassing of the votes was held this morning. Hutchison said Sunday night that he was studying the statutes for recounting the ballots. He said he may ask for a recount pending the outcome of the canvass.

Canvass Held Thomas E. Myers, assistant to the HCC president, Smith and Hutchison to canvass this morning. Hutchison, who works in Rockford, was unable to attend and was represented by Mrs. Wiegand. "I am gratified with the response that the voters accorded me," Hutchison said Sunday night.

"I still entertain the hope that I am the one that was chosen by the voters." Smith said Sunday night that he would not really know who won until after the canvass was completed. When reached by phone Sunday night, Mrs. Wiegand said, "I am very pleased at being given the opportunity to help in running our fine junior college and at the same time am a little overwhelmed by the enormous responsibility that I will share with the other board members in decision making. I regret that Wayne Hutchison will not be able to assist those of us on the board who feel education will not be jeopardized by cutting expenditures for the extras." SCTA Backed Mrs. Wiegand and Hutchison were endorsed by the Stephenson County Taxpayers Association (SCTA) and campaigned as a team.

Both were critical of spending at the college. A graduate of Highland and Rockford College, Mrs. Wiegand is a substitute teacher in the county. She has two children, one of them a student at HCC. Smith was named to the board in 1967 when it was formed and again in 1968 when it was reorganized.

He was re-elected in 1971 for a three-year term. He is also a member of the HCC Foundation. The new members of the board will be seated at Tuesday night's reograni- zational meeting. A new chairman will be selected at that time. Rimington Disappointed Rimington, who said he was -somewhat surprised and disappointed" at the outcome, has served as either chairman of vice chairman of the board since it was organized.

He previously served on the Freeport Board of Education for 11 years. The election of Mrs. Wiegand puts three members of the SCTA on the Hughes, Mrs. Rodkey Elected To Freeport School Board Glenn Hughes, Freeport Route 5, and Mrs. Suzanne Rodkey, 1126 S.

Benson topped the field of four candidates in Saturday's Freeport Board of Education election. Hughes, the incumbent, who is finishing his first term on the board, received 952 votes. Mrs, Rodkey finished second with 934 votes. She replaces Dr. Lee McGregor, who did not seek reelection.

The other two candidates were Mrs. Harriet Furst, 871 W. Stephenson who received 708 votes, and Richard H. Green, 23 Elizabeth Circle, who received 354 votes. Theodore H.

Carpenter, assistant superintendent for business affairs and secretary to the board of education, said this morning that 1,631 votes were cast, including four write-in. Mrs. Rodkey, who has lived in Freeport for seven years, is a former teacher in New Trier Township High School in Winnetka. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, and Northwestern University. Her husband, F.

Stanley Rodkey, is a Freeport attorney. They have two children. Mrs. Rodkey said Sunday night, "I look forward to serving as a member of the board and hope that with the cooperation of parents, educators and the rest of the community, district 145 can provide the best possible education for its children." Hughes, who has lived in Freeport for 15 years, is serving as board president. He is also a member of the Stephenson Area Career Center Board.

He is a Sunoco distributor and owner of Crestwood Sunoco and has four children. Hughes said this morning that he was "happy that people had confidence in me." Hughes and Mrs. Rodkey will be seated at Wednesday's meeting of the board and will serve three-year terms. She becomes the second woman on the board, joining Mrs. Jane Goodspeed, who was elected in 1972.

A new board president will be elected Wednesday night. Hughes said this morning that he called each of the board members and asked them to be thinking of a choice. The vote by precinct was as follows: Precinct 1 (Cedarville) Hughes, 51; Rodkey, 42; Furst, 26; Green, 13. Precinct 2 (Kldott) Hughes, 13; Rodkey, Furst, Greeri, 4. Precinct 3 (Harlem School) Hughes, 210; Rodkey, 209; Furst, 153; Green, 89.

Precinct 4 (Empire School) Hughes, 402; Rodkey, 407; Furst 344; Green, 121. Precinct 5 (Blackhawk School) Hughes, 201, Rodkey, 212; Furst, 135; Green, 92. Precinct 6 (Henney School)' Hughes, 75, Rodkey, 56; Furst, 46, Green, 35. In Today's Paper Page Area news 7, 8 9 Church news 2 Classified 16, 17, 18 19 Comics 16 Editorials 6 Local news 4 10 Markets 10 Obituaries 10 14 Social news 5 Sports news 11,12 13 board. Carl Witt of Freeport was elected to the board last year and Carl Fairbairn of Ridott was elected in 1972.

Other members of the board are H. C. Mitchell, Mount Morris, Dr. Lyle Rachuy, Stockton, and Delbert Scheider, Red Oak. Mrs.

Wiegand was the top vote get(Please Turn to Page 4) Today Is Income Tax Filing Deadline WASHINGTON (AP) Today is April 15, the deadline for filing your 1973 income tax return, unless you live in Maine, Massachusetts or North Carolina. In those states you have until Tuesday because today is a legal holiday Patriot's day in Maine and Massachusetts and Easter Monday in North Carolina. The Internal Revenue Service estimated that it will receive more than 80 million returns this year, up considerably from 425,000 returns filed in 1913, the year that the Payne-Aldrich act created the income tax. And of these 80 million, officials say nearly half are sent in during the last two weeks, with many taxpayers hurrying to the post office to get them postmarked before the midnight deadline. Officials of the IRS declined to estimate the number of persons who may be trying to cheat on their taxes, although one spokesman said such attempts seem to be running about the same level as in the past.

Last year the IRS prosecuted 1,342 persons for income tax evasion. Of these 821 pleaded guilty, 330 pleaded no contest, including former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, 123 were convicted after pleading innocent and 68 were acquitted. And the Tax Reform Research Group, an investigative organization, has charged that checks of IRS offices in seven states revealed mistakes and inconsistencies in the advice IRS gives to taxpayers. Officials said group staffers took identical tax forms and questions to at least three IRS offices in each of seven states.

They said IRS advice ranged from telling them they could expect a refund of $812 in Flushing, N.Y., to the reply that they owed the government $52 at the Portland, office..