Police investigating abandoned car in Elburn

You can learn a lot about people by the miscellaneous stuff - or lack of it - in their cars.

Which is why Kane County sheriff's deputies were eager to talk to a Berwyn man recently after his white Crown Victoria turned up in a ditch near Elburn.

The unlocked car was a 1996 model frequently used by police departments, and was equipped with an orange emergency light bar. Inside, officers found a police-style sweater with a "Security Officer" badge, a CB, two radio scanners and a blue auto lamp like the kind you see cops put on top of unmarked squads in movies.

They also found what appeared to be a parking pass for an emergency medical courier company, which had no record of the name on it when police called to check.

Investigators traced the registration to Berwyn and made contact that day with a man who identified himself as the owner. But he never showed up for an appointment 20 minutes later.

Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said Thursday that the department had assigned a detective to the case and was still working to meet up with the owner. None of the items in the vehicle were illegal to possess, he said, but officers are "following up to make sure everything was legit."

The car was discovered in a ditch on the west side of Main Street, east of Owens Street, just outside of Elburn.

"We don't have any indication there was any wrongdoing," Gengler said. "We don't have any reports of police impersonators in that area. We don't have any reports it (the car) was involved in something."

It's settled: The village of Campton Hills has settled a lawsuit with its former finance director for $13,500. The former staffer, Kathy Catalano, had taken the village to court over $16,287 she said she was still owed when she was removed from the job last July. Village trustees voted 5-0 this month to settle the matter for $13,500, Village Attorney Bill Braithwaite said.

"There was some strong feeling that, based on principle, we should object and fight it, but the realities of cost intervened," he said. "Unfortunately, fighting a relatively small lawsuit under our system is expensive."

The dispute arose out of differing interpretations of Catalano's contract with the village.

While the village claimed her annual pay was capped at $45,000, Catalano maintained she had performed services worth more than $45,000 and was no longer under a cap after her first year on the job.

Neither party admitted liability in the settlement.

St. Baldrick's: Aurora police hope to raise $28,000 for child cancer research this year though the nonprofit St. Baldrick's Foundation.

The fundraiser culminates Saturday, March 14, with officers getting their heads shaved in exchange for donations at Mike and Denise's Pizzeria, 1760 N. Farnsworth Ave. The "shave-a-thon" is from 1 to 6 p.m.

This is the fourth year Aurora police have participated in St. Baldrick's, raising more than $60,000 along the way for research grants. Officers and deputies also are looking for donations for a raffle at the fundraiser, as well as adult members of the public who would donate 12 inches or more of hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit supporting financially disadvantaged children with long-term medical hair loss.

For more information, or to get involved, call Investigator Dave Adams at (630) 256-5664. More information on the St. Baldrick's Foundation is available at stbaldricks.org.