ROCKFORD

New school named for first black teacher in RPS

A new elementary school in the city’s ORCHiD neighborhood will be named for Constance Renick Lane after approval last week by the Rockford District 205 school board.

She was the district’s first black teacher and served as an educator and administrator for more than 30 years before retiring as assistant superintendent for elementary education in 1985. Lane died in 2000.

The new K-5 Constance Lane Elementary School will serve students who live in Kishwaukee, Nelson and a portion of the Beyer elementary school zones when it opens for the 2019-20 school year. Kishwaukee and Nelson will close after the 2018-19 school year.

The 86,000 square-foot K-5 school will cost $17.7 million to build. It  is one of two new schools under construction in RPS 205: Cherry Valley Elementary School, named for the Village of Cherry Valley, will open at the start of the 2018-19 school year. It will replace the existing Cherry Valley, White Swan and Thompson elementary schools. These new elementary schools mark the first new school construction in RPS 205 since 1998.

COUNTY

County, city file suit against opioid makers

Winnebago County, the Winnebago County State’s Attorney and the City of Rockford have filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against a number of manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. 

In January, Winnebago County, the City of Rockford, and State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato announced their intent to file suit against pharmaceutical companies and distributors to hold them accountable for the opioid addiction crisis in Rockford and Winnebago County.

With the approval of the County Board and City Council,  Bruscato and the City of Rockford filed suit against more than 20 defendants last week.

City and County officials maintain that opioid manufacturers and distributors not only failed report over prescriptions, as required by federal and state law, they chose to abuse their position by continuing to ship massive quantities of drugs to local pharmacies without performing or reporting any checks.

The lawsuits also allege that wholesale distributors and manufacturers have worked cooperatively to maximize the amount of drugs flowing into communities rather than implementing effective controls. 

The end result of massive quantities of opioids flooding into communities has led to an epidemic of addiction to both prescription opioids and controlled substances such as heroin. The City of Rockford and County of Winnebago have been forced to use taxpayer funds to deal with the fallout of this epidemic.

COUNTY

Forest Preserve district plans prescribed burns

Spring is burn season and Forest Preserve of Winnebago County crews will be out in coming weeks administering prescribed fires on preserve properties.

Invasive plants can rage out of control without periodic prescribed fires. In fact, fire is the primary tool for managing invasive species and benefiting native species in our restored habitats.

Only specially trained FPWC staff members who meet burn control and safety training standards participate in prescription burns.

The morning of a burn they carefully evaluate wind conditions, humidity, temperature and the amount of moisture in the vegetation.

All fires are conducted with permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and local fire departments. Local and adjacent fire and police departments are notified.

In addition, FPWC sends letters in advance to residents who live next to designated sites and “controlled burn” signs are posted at preserve entrances.

The goal for 2018 is to burn a total of 3,391 acres at 35 sites.

NIU

Original trustee stepping down

Nearly a quarter of century after helping to create NIU’s first independent governing board, Bob Boey has decided to turn the page. 

A Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month was his last, as the successful engineer, businessman and community leader has decided to retire.

“Twenty-two years is a long time,” said Boey, NIU’s longest-serving trustee.  “It’s not easy to walk away from something you’ve spent so many years on, but I’m ready to wake up in the morning without any specific place to be or task to complete.”

Boey was among the first people appointed by former Gov. Jim Edgar to serve on NIU’s new board beginning in January 1996. 

Among the projects he helped oversee during the next two decades were construction of the Engineering Building, Barsema Hall, LaTourette Hall, the Latino Center, Campus Child Care, NIU-Naperville, the Convocation Center, the Barsema Alumni and Visitor’s Center, the Northern View Community and New Residence Hall.

Beyond building projects, Boey successfully helped lobby for NIU’s ability to keep its own tuition revenue rather than sending it to Springfield for reapportionment – a move that has helped NIU weather serious financial storms. 

He served two terms as board chair, and also co-chaired two presidential searches in 1999-2000 and again in 2012-13.

–Winnebago County News Briefs–