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Clock ticks for landfill opponents Those seeking to challenge expansion must raise funds privately By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CORTLAND – Private donations likely will be needed for Cortland Township residents to pursue potential legal action Waste Management. At a special township meeting of more than 75 people, electors decided any challenge to a proposed landfill expansion should be funded by supporters; the legal challenge could cost up to $60,000. Supporters of the landfill expansion hoped a special tax levy would be an option but a late, major change altered the course of Thursday’s meeting just as it began. Frankie Benson, organizer of the special meeting, planned to propose a special
Jeff Engelhardt – jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Jeff Jeep, a potential lawyer for Cortland Township, explains the strength of a case against Waste Management regarding a landfill expansion to electors Thursday. Electors voted to pursue legal action only if supporters can present the needed $60,000 to the Cortland Township Board for legal costs.
Republicans hammer defense nominee Hagel The ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON – Republican senators hammered former GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel at his confirmation hearing Thursday on issues ranging from Israel and Iran to his support for a group that advocates the elimination of nuclear weapons. But with most Democrats in his corner, an unflustered Hagel seems headed for approval as defense secretary. Hagel, a former two-term senator from Nebraska, described his views as mainstream and closely aligned Chuck Hagel with those of President Barack Obama, the Democrat who nominated him. But several GOP members of the Armed Services Committee sought to portray him as radical and unsteady. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., called his ideas “extreme” and “far to the left” of Obama. Hagel said he believes America “must engage – not retreat – in the world,” and insisted that his record is consistent on that point. He pointed to Iran and its nuclear ambitions as an example of an urgent national security threat that should be addressed first by attempting to establish dialogue with Iranian rulers, although he said he would not rule out using military force. “I think we’re always on higher ground in every way – international law, domestic law, people of the world, people of the region to be with us on this – if we have ... gone through every possibility to resolve this in a responsible, peaceful way, rather than going to war,” he said. He pushed back on the notion – first raised by one of his harshest Republican critics, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma – that he favors a policy of appeasement. “I think engagement is
clearly in our interest,” Hagel told Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., who denounced the idea of negotiating with a “terrorist state.” “That’s not negotiation,” Hagel said. “Engagement is not appeasement. Engagement is not surrender.” After the daylong hearing, committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the panel could vote as early as next Thursday if Hagel quickly provides additional material requested by some members. The nominee’s fiercest exchange came with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a fellow Vietnam veteran, onetime close friend and a vote that could carry considerable sway. Politics and Hagel’s evolving opposition to the Iraq war caused a split between the two men that was on full display. McCain suggested that Hagel and his critics were not quibbling over small matters. “They are not reasonable people disagreeing; they are fundamental disagreements. Our concerns pertain to the quality of your professional judgment and your worldview on critical areas of national security,” he said. McCain pressed Hagel on whether he was right or wrong about his opposition to President George W. Bush’s decision to send an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq in 2007 at a point when the war seemed in danger of being lost. Hagel, who voted to authorize military force in Iraq, later opposed the conflict, comparing it to Vietnam and arguing that it shifted the focus from Afghanistan. “Were you right? Were you correct in your assessment?” McCain asked. “I would defer to the judgment of history to sort that out,” Hagel said as the two men talked over each other. “The committee deserves your judgment as to whether you were right or wrong about the surge,” McCain insisted.
More online To see a video from the event, visit Daily-Chronicle.com. tax levy to help raise the funds needed to pursue legal action against Waste Management should the electors have voiced support. But she said she learned late in the process that proposing a levy would require a referendum. Because the deadline to submit items for a referendum on the April ballot was Jan. 22, Benson told those in attendance that would no longer be an option to fight the landfill expansion. To attempt to find a funding source, the proposed item asked electors to vote
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DeKalb Chamber hosts dinner
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Mark Smirz, the 2013 DeKalb Chamber Board Chair, shakes hands with one of the retiring members of the board Thursday at the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce annual meeting in Altgeld Hall in DeKalb.
Event honors city’s leaders, entrepreneurs By STEPHANIE HICKMAN shickman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – When Bill and Joy McMahon first bought the Lincoln Inn restaurant as two young Northern Illinois University graduates in 1994, they had no idea they would eventually turn it into the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce’s 2012 Business of the Year. After 2013 DeKalb Chamber Board Chair Mark Smirz announced The Lincoln Inn
as the Business of the Year at Thursday’s annual chamber meeting and celebration dinner at NIU, McMahon was shocked. “This is quite an honor,” he said. “We are truly humbled.” The dinner honored several of DeKalb’s top leaders and entrepreneurs, including NIU President Dr. John Peters who will retire from the university at the end of this academic year. Peters received the Community Pride Award for his 13 years of service to the university and the community. Peters said one of the greatest rewards of his job has been learning about the positive influence he’s had on the lives
of students and community members, although he never realized he had made such an impact. He said the DeKalb community has been just as significant in his life. “It’s so important to remember our past and the people who got us here,” he said. Peters said he is proud of the way NIU and the DeKalb community have successfully worked side by side over the years. “It’s amazing everything the university and community has been through, and the progress we’ve made despite hard times,” he said. He said their working relationship must continue. “A strong and vibrant
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on whether the Cortland Township Board should pursue legal action. By giving the board the authority, the board could use money it has in reserves or implement a levy under its authority. “This is the most grassroots form of government here,” Benson said. “It’s on us to monitor the board.” Jeff Jeep, the potential lawyer for the township, said legal costs would not exceed $60,000, regardless of how far the case went in the legal process. He pointed to a 1992 language change that could give townships authority over Illinois Environmental Protection Agency permits regulating garbage disposal within their boundaries.
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DeKalb and Sycamore is essential to the success of NIU,” he said. 2012 DeKalb Chamber Board Chair Wendy WestKrauch said she expects 2013 to be another successful year for the community and the chamber. She said one of the chamber’s biggest accomplishments this past year was the increase in membership. The chamber currently sits at more than 520 members, a number she and Smirz expect to increase in 2013. West-Krauch and Smirz both stressed that working together is how the businesses of DeKalb will succeed in the future.
See CHAMBER, page A4
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