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Grady terminated from NIU police By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Northern Illinois University Police Chief Donald Grady was fired Tuesday for his part in NIU police withholding evidence in a rape case against one of its officers. Grady was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 10. That was one day after DeKalb County Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert ruled that Grady’s department purposefully
withheld witness statements favorable to Andrew Rifkin, an NIU police officer accused of raping a student offcampus and off-duty. Charges against Donald Rifkin have since been Grady dropped. Grady had been chief since 2001, and earned $205,987 a year. Bill Nicklas, the acting director of public safety at NIU, sent Grady a let-
ter regarding his firing. In it, Nicklas said he did not believe Grady’s assertions that he wasn’t involved with hiding those documents. “While I do not find your denials to be credible, even if true, at a minimum, your failure to supervise departmental personnel in this important case represents sufficient cause for dismissal,” Nicklas wrote. Grady’s attorney, Michael Fox, told the Chicago Tribune that he will “fight this in every manner to show
On the Net For more on Grady’s termination, including Grady’s termination letter, visit DailyChronicle.com. the injustice of what has now been done.” Nicklas wrote that Grady knew, or should have known, that the evidence wasn’t properly turned over to prosecutors. Grady also should
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have recognized that allowing NIU police to investigate one of its own officers exposed the department to allegations of a conflict of interest, the letter states. When Grady learned Lt. Kartik Ramakrishnan had placed the two witness statements in Rifkin’s personnel file, he took no action aside from reprimanding him. Ramakrishnan remains on paid leave, and Darren Mitchell remains acting police chief.
County Board member steps down By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
he’s not stopping now. “I’m looking to lose a few more pounds and build muscle,” he said. Sycamore CrossFit owners Carl Balentyne and Mark Mitrovic encourage their members to get fit in ways that will benefit them in the long run. “We don’t want to look at it as weight loss and dieting,” said Balentyne. “It’s more of a nutritional life change.” Both Balentyne and Mitrovic said CrossFit is not necessarily about creating huge success stories, but making small strides toward better fitness. “As long as people are improving, we know we’re doing something right,” Mitrovic said.
SYCAMORE – DeKalb County Board member Ken Andersen quit the board Tuesday, citing a loss of drive and energy to fight for the changes he believes are necessary. Andersen, a Sycamore Republican who had represented District 3 since 2006, won a contested race in November. He also had support for the board chairmanship before an unexpected nomination from Democrats for Republican Jeff Metzger of Sandwich derailed Andersen’s bid. Although Andersen was upset with the chairmanship selection process, he said it was a combination of frustrating factors that led to his decision. A fiscal conserva- Ken tive, Andersen un- Andersen successfully urged the County Board to spend less money during each budget process, but total spending always went up. “I didn’t intend to let down the voters, but I kind of lost my drive and energy,” Andersen said. “I don’t think I was being effective any more in getting my ideas across to the board. I couldn’t convince them we needed a smaller budget.” Andersen was involved in major projects such as the DeKalb County Courthouse expansion and the ongoing Evergreen Village Mobile Home Park mitigation, both of which affect his district. Ruth Anne Tobias, D-DeKalb, was chairwoman when Andersen was first elected and worked with him on the courthouse expansion committee. She said Andersen always was dedicated and wanted what he thought was best for the county, even when they did not agree. Tobias credits Andersen as the first board member to hold district meetings to get feedback from constituents.
See PHYSICAL, page A7
See COUNTY BOARD, page A7
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Julie French (left) and Phoebe Balentyne, both of Sycamore, do their first set of eight pullups as part of a workout Monday at Sycamore CrossFit.
Healthy competitions encourage fit lifestyles By STEPHANIE HICKMAN
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shickman@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – When Bryan Westerby and his classmates at Sycamore CrossFit strive to complete their grueling workout of the day, they all have one goal in mind: Win the Look Better Naked Challenge. Westerby and several other CrossFit members signed on for the Look Better Naked Challenge at Sycamore CrossFit, 1330 E. State St. in Sycamore at the beginning of January to create a healthier lifestyle. The eight-week program is halfway through, and many participants, including Westerby, already have seen results. “I’ve lost seven pounds,” he said. “And I’m happy with that.” Westerby is one of many locals working to become more physically fit and improve their overall health this winter. Multiple programs such as Sycamore CrossFit’s Look Better Naked Challenge and the Kishwaukee Family YMCA’s Live Healthy Team Challenge have gotten many people on their feet and ready to move. PartneringwithKishwaukeeCommunity Hospital, the Kishwaukee YMCA has created the Live Healthy
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More online Check out a photo gallery and a video of the workout at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Mark Mitrovic (center, back to camera), co-owner of Sycamore CrossFit, encourages members as they do pullups or bring their knees up to their elbows during an evening workout Monday. Team Challenge, an eight-week fitness program running from Feb. 25 to April 15 at the Kishwaukee YMCA, 2500 Bethany Road in DeKalb. Katrina Luetkebuenger, the associate executive director at the Kishwaukee YMCA, said this program was originally inspired by “The Biggest Loser” reality TV competition. She said the program has recruited at least 47 participants who will be working together in teams to reach their fitness goals. Luetke-
buenger said the team-based concept is what helps the participants obtain success. “The support that they get from one another, the accountability and the education [is important],” she said. In addition to the seven pounds he has lost since CrossFit’s Look Better Naked Challenge began, Westerby has lost about 50 pounds since joining Sycamore CrossFit in May. Westerby said he’s on his way to reaching his target weight, and
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