75 cents
Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com
Se 79 Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Friday, February 15, 2013
ColleCtiVe partNersHip • FaitH, C1
girls basketball • sports, b1
St. Catherine Mardi Gras celebrates whole community
H-BR’s season ends against Annawan Linda Dolder
Early education urged for state DeKalb County leaders echo funding, eligibility concerns
Voice your opinion Which is the most deserving of more state funding?
By JEFF ENGELHARDT • Child care for low-income families • State-supported preschools • Public education at all levels • Pensions
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Let us know at Daily-Chronicle.com.
DeKALB – Weeks before Gov. Pat Quinn is set to announce his state budget plan, a children’s advocacy group is calling for a greater invest-
Illlinois Senate votes to legalize gay marriage
ment in early childhood education and child care services. Voices for Illinois Children released its 2013 Illinois Kids Count report Thursday, chronicling the decline in attendance at state-supported preschools and an increased financial bur-
den to families seeking child care because of cuts in state funding. The report showed that about 20,000 fewer children are attending state-supported preschool programs statewide while eligibility requirements for the Child Care Assistance Program have become more restrictive, moving the qualifying family income threshold from 200 percent of the poverty line to 185 percent. That’s the
difference between $47,110 or $43,500 for a family of four. Nancy Teboda, executive director of the Children’s Learning Center in DeKalb, said the changes have hurt local families. When the income requirements became more restrictive, Teboda said the center lost 12 families because their co-pay would have quadrupled. “We’ve had families who have cut their hours at work
to remain eligible so they can still have child care while they work and go to school,” Teboda said. “They’re making the same amount of money but their co-pay goes way up. We’re talking about families who really need the state subsidy program. They’re working the best jobs they can find and trying to get a college education.”
See KIDS COUNT, page A7
ANNIVERSARY OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY SHOOTING
‘They’re still family to us’
By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – The push to allow same-sex marriages in Illinois got its biggest victory to date Thursday with a historic Valentine’s Day vote in the state Senate, and supporters expressed confidence that within two weeks President Barack Obama’s home state could join nine others that have lifted their gay-marriage bans amid shifting public opinion. With a 34-21 vote, senators advanced the measure to the House, where it could be a tougher sell even though Democrats also hold a majority there. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, has pledged to sign it into law should the House pass it too. Senate approval was a significant – and at times elusive – step forward for the issue, just two years after legislators approved civil unions. Never had a plan to lift the gay-marriage ban won approval on the floor of either chamber. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, called it “a vote for the history books.” She said the measure’s strong showing in the Senate – where it needed 30 votes to pass – and the support of one Republican were good signs of what’s to come. Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said “the prospects are very good” in the House, although he declined to discuss the roll call so far or say when a hearing will be held. But other supporters said it could be within the next two weeks.
See GAY MARRIAGE, page A7
Photos by Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
After placing a wreath Thursday in front of the memorial for Ryanne Mace, her parents, Eric and Mary Kay Mace, embrace for a moment on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb.
Current students ‘touched’ every day by 5 victims By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com
AP photo
State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Champaign, announces his intentions to vote yes on Senate Bill 10, a measure to legalize gay marriage, during debate Thursday in the Senate at the Illinois State Capitol. Barickman was the only Republican to vote yes on the bill, which passed with a vote of 34-21, sending it to the Illinois House.
DeKALB – Many of the students who attended the Feb. 14 memorial at Northern Illinois University on Thursday were in high school when the shooting occurred. They weren’t on campus when word spread of a former NIU student walking into Cole Hall and opening fire. They didn’t wait on pins and needles for news of what had happened. And they never had the chance to meet the five students who were killed on Feb. 14, 2008. But that didn’t stop them from coming together like a
family Thursday. “Just because we didn’t know them – they’re still family to us,” said Jordan Casey, a senior communications major. “They’re still a part of the Huskie family. It still brings us together.” Casey was one of a couple of hundred people who watched as university officials escorted the friends and families of the deceased – Gayle Dubowski, Catalina Garcia, Julianna Gehant, Ryanne Mace and Daniel Parmenter – from Neptune Hall to the Memorial Garden in front of Cole Hall.
See WREATH-LAYING, page A8
Wreaths wait on a table for family members to place in front of the victims’ individual memorials before the rememberance ceremony.
More online, For a video on the subject, please visit daily-chronicle.com
Weather
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3, 6, 7 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
A6-7 A9 B1-4
0 $ 0
$
$ Sig & Drive Lease
Due at Sig i g
0 $ 0
Dow Payme t
First Payme t
236/mo th for 36 Mo ths
$
2013 Chevy Malibu LS. MSRP plus desti atio freight charge $22,805.00. Excludes tax, title, docume tary fees a d optio al equipme t. $236 per mo th for 36 mo ths i cludes Auto Show Bo us Cash as Capital Cost Reductio . GM Fi a cial low mileage lease example for well qualified lessees. 36 mo th lease/35 mo thly payme ts. No security deposit required. Mileage charge of $.25/mile over 39,000 miles. Take delivery by 2/28/13. See dealer for details.
Security Deposit
Advice Comics Classified
ENDS FEBRUARY 28TH
C4 C5 C6-7
High:
28
Low:
12
2013 Chevy Malibu LS
3
MPG