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Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Thursday, January 31, 2013
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Huskies put up 67 points in victory
Giving a tease to Super Bowl ads
Candidates attend DARA forum By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – Aldermanic candidates agreed with the DeKalb Area Rental Association that the city overreached on the funding and inspection mechanism of the new housing ordinances. The candidates – Stephen Clark and Bill Finucane, for the 2nd Ward, and James Mitchell and Bob Snow,
for the 4th Ward – expressed varying degrees of disagreement about the inspections, which are funded through fees paid by landlords. “It’s a big waste of time, and a big waste of effort,” Mitchell said. “Having them inspected is one thing, but they shouldn’t be tagged with a fee, but with a fine if there’s something wrong.” The candidates for alderman and DeKalb mayor fielded ques-
tions from the landlord association at a private forum Wednesday night. The Daily Chronicle and other local media were invited to attend. As landlords, their questions to the candidates focused on housing issues and economic development. The city’s relationship with Northern Illinois University also was touched upon as well. Sixth Ward Alderman Dave Baker
was present, but declined to answer most of the questions because he is running unopposed. In November, the DeKalb City Council approved a series of ordinances designed to improved the city’s housing stock. Two of the key disagreements between the City Council and DARA were the fees and staffing levels to implement them. The candidates also expressed
cautious support for creating new tax increment financing districts, something the current City Council hired a firm to evaluate. However, they differed on whether the special tax mechanism should be used as an incentive to lure private business to the area, as the City Council had done with a $900,000 loan to Olive Garden.
See CANDIDATES, page A6
Cortland car dealer hit with ID theft
Forgotten heroes Program sheds light on plight of military dogs
By JEFF ENGELHARDT
By STEPHANIE HICKMAN
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
shickman@shawmedia.com
SYCAMORE – The owner of a Cortland used-car dealership was charged with seven counts of identity theft Wednesday for allegedly using his customers’ information to take out phony car loans. Terry Morrow Jr., owner of Silver Star Motors in Cortland, is being investigated for 25 cases of identity theft, seven of which involved DeKalb County residents, DeKalb County court records show. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office is investigating 18 Terry cases linked to Mor- Morrow Jr. row in Missouri. Morrow, 25, of the 1200 block of Christopher Court in Elgin, faces seven Class 2 felony charges, all punishable by up to seven years in prison. He is being held at DeKalb County Jail on $750,000 bond. No identity theft victim lost money, but each lending company Morrow used in his alleged scheme was defrauded of between $3,000 and $7,000, police said. DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said police made an arrest just in time, as Morrow was about to close shop and leave Cortland. At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, police were informed a U-Haul was at the dealership being loaded with office supplies and all the cars that were for sale were gone. Morrow opened his Cortland business in April after moving from Missouri. Once in custody, Morrow explained to police how he carried out the identity thefts, Scott said.
DeKALB – Nero isn’t your average veteran. He served with the U.S. Navy in a bomb detection unit in Iraq and protected more than 3,000 soldiers during his deployment. But what separates Nero from most veterans are his four legs and furry coat. To fellow Iraq War veteran Danny Scheurer, Nero is more than a German shepherd. He is a hero. Both Scheurer and Nero were injured in the line of duty in Iraq. As a result, Scheurer receives roughly $1,000 a month from the government. Nero was in line for a How to help different fate. “His reward for getting injured was to be Dogs that don’t pass euthanized,” Scheurer the military’s post-service said. tests can be adopted only Scheurer and Nero by veterans with a security visited Northern Ilclearance. The organizalinois University on Wednesday to raise tion Save-A-Vet is taking awareness about mili- applications for anyone who t a r y w o r k i n g d o g s would like to help retired with stories similar to service dogs. Applications Nero’s. NIU’s Military are available on the group’s Student Services and website, www.Save-A-Vet. the Disability Resource org. Information also is Center hosted more available by calling the than 100 students, vet- group at 815-349-9647. erans and community members at the presenMore online tation titled “The Other Forgotten Soldier.” Visit Daily-Chronicle. As keynote speaker com to watch video of at the event, Scheurer also brought aware- Danny Scheurer and Nero. ness to the Save-A-Vet program, which he founded in 2007 to prevent military working dogs like Nero from being euthanized after their service. The program takes in former military working dogs who are deemed unfit for adoption after their service. The Military Working Dog school at Lackland Air Force Base administers tests to determine whether or not the dogs can be adopted.
See ID THEFT, page A4
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Danny Scheurer, founder and CEO of Save-A-Vet answers questions asked of him in a question and answer session about his organization as former military working dog Nero watches the crowd Wednesday in the Holmes Student Center in DeKalb.
See DOGS, page A6
Giffords pleads for curbing firearms By ALAN FRAM The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Severely wounded and still recovering, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords begged lawmakers at an emotional hearing Wednesday to act quickly to curb firearms because “Americans are counting on you.” Not everyone agreed, underscoring the national political divide over gun control. Giffords’ 80-word plea was the day’s most riveting moment, delivered in a hushed, halting voice two years after the Arizona Democrat suffered head wounds in a Tucson shooting spree that killed six people. The session also came two months
after 20 first-graders and six women were slain by a gunman who invaded Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. At the same hearing, a top official of the National Rifle Association rejected Democratic proposals to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and said requiring background checks for all gun purchases would be ineffective because the Obama administration isn’t doing enough to enforce the law as it is. Even if stronger background checks did identify a criminal, “as long as you let him go, you’re not keeping him from getting a gun and you’re not preventing him from
getting to the next crime scene,” said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president. He said poor enforcement is “a national disgrace.” Giffords, who retired from Congress last year, focused during her brief appearance on the carnage from armed assailants. “Too many children are dying,” she said at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “Too many children. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now.” AP photo Guiding her in and remaining to testify was Mark Kelly, the retired Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously injured in the shooting that astronaut who is Giffords’ husband. killed six people in Tucson, Ariz., two years ago, sits with her husband Mark Kelly.
See GUN CONTROL, page A6
Giffords appeared on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence.
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