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Lyons: Cancer Question Finally Ready for Jury

Even though it’s nearly six months away, a legal resolution for the McCullom Lake brain cancer plaintiffs is on the horizon.

For too many, and one is too many, death has proved the ultimate resolution. As the case has dragged on for four years, 10 of 30 plaintiffs have not lived to see their day in court.

If the June trial goes on in Philadelphia as indicated, the remaining plaintiffs will get to see the first case.

Northwest Herald reporter Kevin Craver and videographer Danielle Guerra have provided an exhaustive and thorough report of the McCullom Lake saga over the years. Both were named Suburban Newspapers of America’s Journalists of the Year last year because of their reporting on this story.

When new stories break about McCullom Lake, I routinely flash back to our initial reaction with the news of the lawsuits. Even the most dimwitted editors would know it was a huge local story.

Not that Craver needed much prodding to dive in, but a huge catalyst for the extensive coverage was the bizarre reaction from the McHenry County Department of Health. They raced to hold meetings and tell everyone they could that, essentially, "Nothing to see here. Move along, please. No pollutants caused brain cancer here. Trust us. We’re the government."

Well, we didn’t. And we don’t. Not on this point. If consistent trust in the government was a prerequisite for journalism, I’d probably be a roofer.

Frankly, who expected the county health department, which otherwise has many worthy functions and valuable employees, to be able to answer such a question?

Why would a government body, woefully unequipped to consider a complex matter such as a cancer cluster, jump to the defense of Rohm and Haas? I expect Rohm and Haas to jump to the defense of Rohm and Haas and the health department’s greatest concern to be county health. I to this day still don’t understand why they acted as they did.

What’s also become apparent is that government agencies even on much larger scales seem unprepared or reluctant to tackle this question. It seems the adversarial arena of a courtroom is the best place to settle it once and for all.

After spending the bulk of my career covering it, I’ve learned that while no human entity is without error, our system of justice is the best on the planet. Good courts operate without political or financial pressure, and by the time a case gets to trial, bureaucracy couldn’t stand in the way with a capitol building full of red tape and legislators if it wanted to.

Maybe matters take years. Maybe exhaustive appeals are necessary, but a court of law is the best place we can hope to find a real answer to what happened to 30 people who developed cancer in and around a small town in McHenry County.

 • Kevin Lyons is news editor of the Northwest Herald. Reach him at 815-526-4505 or e-mail him at kelyons@nwherald.com.

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