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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Find us online @thedailynu
City schools stand to lose funding Local,
By Paige Leskin
daily senior staffer @paigeleskin
Officials from the school boards of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School District 202 are working on a joint resolution that expresses their opposition to an Illinois Senate bill that would result in state funding for both districts to be cut by about four-fifths. D202 board president Gretchen Livingston will prepare a draft of the boards’ position that criticizes the state bill for failing to increase funding for public education in Illinois, she said. She called the bill, also known as the School Funding Reform Act of 2014, a “redistribution mechanism” that aims to provide more money to schools in the state’s lower income districts. Inadvertently, the bill would punish districts such as Evanston with higher property
state and federal funding for Evanston public schools
By ally mutniCk and rebecca savransky
daily senior staffers @allymutnick, @beccasavransky
“
think it boosts the spirits of some of the residents and merchants there
Drowning has been ruled the official cause of death for McCormick senior Mihirtej Boddupalli, who was one of two passengers in a July drunk driving accident that left the car they were riding in at the bottom of a 40-feet-deep lake. Coroner’s reports show both passengers were intoxicated at the time of their deaths. The DuPage County Coroner’s Office autopsy and toxicology reports, accessed this week by The Daily, determined the final cause of death for both passengers as drowning by entrapment in a car. The accident occurred early July 19 when McCormick senior Michael Szot, who had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit of 0.08, drove the car down a steep wooded area before it landed upside down in a water-filled quarry in Naperville, Illinois, according to the coroner’s investigative report. The car sunk to the bottom of the lake. Boddupalli and Indiana University student Sajaad Syed were both found inside the vehicle, according to the report. They were later pronounced dead at a hospital. Szot, who pleaded not guilty to nine counts of aggravated driving under the influence last month, was able to escape through a driver’s side window while the car was sinking, according to documents filed by the prosecution in a DuPage County court. Prosecutors reported Szot had a BAC of 0.14 shortly after the crash and admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the night. Boddupalli had a BAC of 0.162 and Syed of 0.102 and neither tested positive for marijuana, according to the coroner’s toxicology report. When initially questioned after the crash, Szot denied driving the car, telling police he had “given his keys to irresponsible friends,” according to court documents, but he later admitted he was the driver. Earlier in the night, Szot picked up his two friends and drove to a party where he smoked marijuana, according to the court files. The three then arrived at Features Bar in Naperville between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., according to the files, and left at about 1:30 a.m. Szot later admitted to drinking between “8-9 beers and shots of rum throughout the night,” according to court documents. The accident occurred at about 2 a.m. while the car was traveling at a
» See dempster, page 6
» See CRASH, page 6
Senate Bill 16 aims to overhaul the state’s current regressive funding system.
Illinois State Board of Education
» See education, page 6
Source: District 202 and District 65 budget reports Graphic by Brooke Sloan and Hanna Bolaños/Daily Senior Staffers
Intersection sees increase in business By Marissa Mizroch
the daily northwestern @MarissaMizroch
The intersection of Dempster Street and Dodge Avenue continues to develop with the recent addition of multiple new businesses, including Starbucks, a grocery store and plans for a health center to expand its space. An area that has been subject to years of vacancies and foreclosed properties, the intersection will be further improved with the new influx of business openings, Evanston’s economic development coordinator Paul Zalmezak said. Local grocery chain Valli Produce finalized its purchase of the Evanston Plaza shopping center, located at the corner of the two streets, on Thursday. The space lost its biggest store, Dominick’s, when the supermarket closed all of its locations in the Chicago area in December 2013. “We felt it was important to purchase the shopping center to improve the overall shopping experience at Dempster and Dodge,” Valli Produce owner Frank Greco said in a news release. “The retail offerings at this plaza have been stagnant for several years and we hope to revitalize its potential.” Valli’s owners intend to expand the Dominick’s space to create a bigger supermarket, as well as
Nathan Richards/Daily Senior Staffer
devloping Dempster/dodge Cars pass by the newly opened Starbucks at Dempster Street and Dodge Avenue in southwestern Evanston on Tuesday night. The area has seen a series of new businesses open as part of an ongoing development project.
improve existing storefronts and relocate others to make the entire shopping center more convenient for customers.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
New details in DUI crash
“It’s already a stable neighborhood, but we’re hoping it will stabilize property values, it’ll attract other businesses,” Zalmezak said. “I
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