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Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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Fire damages at least 2 DeKalb apartments
Local referee retires after 50 years Denny Heins
Kapitan explains resignation, candidacy Since his resignation, Kapitan has received treatment, and aldermen reduced the pay and the intended responsibilities of the elected position, so Kapitan said he is confident he can do the job. Steven “I didn’t Kapitan have the courage to publicly reveal my condition [last year],” Kapitan said. “I’ve had a year to address the issue and have the confidence to say it.”
By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – Former DeKalb City Clerk Steve Kapitan said he lied to the City Council and quit his elected office last year under the threat of legal action while he was coping with a new diagnosis of attention deficit disorder. Kapitan, who is among four write-in candidates registered to run for city clerk in April, on Monday recounted the events that led to his resignation in February 2012.
A GROWING BACKLOG Kapitan said he was diagnosed with ADD in August 2011 as he failed to create minutes for many of the City Council’s closed session meetings, which are strictly regulated by the Open Meetings Act. Kapitan said he would often find himself putting off more important tasks to do less meaningful busy work. “The psychology of why one does that – it’s sort of avoiding a responsibility when it’s there. But it’s not due to a lack of time,” Kapitan said. “It’s that you allow
Corn Fest’s return to downtown is almost complete
POSSIBLE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS At a closed meeting in January 2012, Kapitan held up a stack of papers before the council and city staff and said that he had completed all of the minutes. It was a lie that was revealed a couple of days later. “I misled them,” Kapitan said. “I was hoping to get caught up with them before the next meeting.” At that point, Frieders said the council directed
See KAPITAN, page A5
announces resignation
By DAVID THOMAS
AP photo
Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd on Sept. 12, 2006, at the end of a papal Mass in Regensburg, southern Germany, some about 75 miles northeast of Munich. When Benedict steps down on Feb. 28, his reputation as a brilliant theologian will remain intact. But he fell short of the mark he set for himself on unifying the church, building relationships with other religions and restoring the church’s influence in broader society. During his 2006 visit to Regensburg, he was sharply criticized by Muslims when he quoted a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman.”
Local Catholic leaders praise Pope Benedict’s tenure By JEFF ENGELHARDT
“He will leave a lasting imprint for all of us in many ways but especially for his dedication and fidelity to the teachings of Christ.”
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
AP photo
L’Osservatore Romano, Mons. Franco Comaldo, a pope aide (left) looks at Pope Benedict XVI as he reads a document in Latin where he announces his resignation Monday during a meeting of Vatican cardinals at the Vatican.
DeKALB – The Rev. Don Ahles hopes Pope Benedict XVI’s nearly eight years as head of the Catholic Church is not solely remembered for his historic announcement Monday. Ahles, pastor of St. Catherine of Genoa, was shocked with much of the Catholic world when Benedict announced Monday his intent to resign Feb. 28, becoming the first pope in 600 years to step down. While Benedict will certainly be remembered for the resignation, Ahles said Benedict’s legacy should also be one of love and the determination to carry on the policies of his predecessor, Pope John
David Malloy, bishop of the Diocese of Rockford Paul II. “He certainly has been a pope who has called Christians from all walks of life to come together in faith and love,” Ahles said. “I think he will be remembered as a loving and gentle pope.” Benedict, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, cited declining health as the reason for resignation. The 85year-old was one of the oldest elected popes when he took the position at 78 years old in 2005. Ahles said resignation has always been an option
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the city attorney to discuss possible solutions with the state’s attorney’s office, whose attorneys believed Kapitan was violating the Open Meetings Act. Frieders said both city staff and council were worried. “We were concerned that the City Council knew of the violation, and if they knew about it, could have created potential criminal liability to the elected and appointed members of the city,” Frieders said.
Pontiff
dthomas@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – It’s nearly a done deal: Corn Fest will be returning to downtown DeKalb this coming Labor Day weekend. The DeKalb City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday to petition the Illinois Department of Transportation to shut down Lincoln Highway from 3 p.m. Aug. 29 to 9 p.m. Sept. 1. Aldermen Tom Teresinski and Monica O’Leary of the 2nd and 7th Wards, respectively, were not present for the vote. Corn Fest chairwoman Lisa Angel said the majority of downtown businesses wanted the festival back on Lincoln Highway. “They weren’t getting the foot traffic into their businesses,” Angel said. “So that’s why they’re very excited ... to have all of these outof-town people, as well as local people, come to the downtown and see what we’ve done.” While each of the aldermen was excited to see Corn Fest return to downtown, a lot of the debate Monday focused on whether the City Council should do something to further favor local vendors over out-of-town vendors at the festival. “That should be the highlight. Our local business should be the highlight,” 1st Ward Alderman David Jacobson said. “Those people are paying the taxes as a local business owner. ... We’re paying the bill, our taxpayers are paying the bill.” Angel said local vendors are given priority in terms of fees and application availability. A local not-for-profit agency pays $250 and a local business pays $450 for their Corn Fest booth. An out-of-town vendor pays $900. Sixth Ward Alderman Dave Baker contemplated having out-of-town vendors pay an extra $300 in an effort to collect on lost sales tax. City Manager Mark Biernacki said out-of-town vendors only pay sales tax if they elect to. But vendors who haven’t paid are barred from registering for Corn Fest the next year. DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen said it wasn’t the council’s business to micromanage Corn Fest. “As we learned tonight, everyone is an expert on Corn Fest and how it should be run,” Povlsen said. “That’s why we have a committee.” Baker eventually dropped the idea. The festival will be located on the north side of the train tracks; Baker noted that the city has been lucky that no one has been injured by the trains during the festival. Angel said they have the majority of the festival planned out, but they are working on a number of details. Within 30 to 60 days, they should have a street plan ready, she said.
it was not seriously considered.
other things to come up to distract your attention from something that’s a priority.” DeKalb City Attorney Dean Frieders said City Council members spent months discussing the issue. DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen said the council was doing its best to help Kapitan. “He didn’t get his work done,” Povlsen said. “We were supportive as long as we felt we could be.” Both Povlsen and Kapitan said city leaders mentioned getting another person to help with the minutes, but
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for popes, and many expected John Paul II to do so when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Ahles said many in the Catholic community support Benedict and his decision and will now pray for the leaders of the church as they select the next pope. A group of more than 100 cardinals will begin the voting process for Benedict’s successor sometime between March 15 and March 20, according to reports.
See POPE BENEDICT, page A5
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