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Northern Illinois’ Akeem Daniels
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
COLLEGE FOOTBALL • SPORTS, B1
PASSOVER • FOOD, C1
NIU adds Huskie Bowl to spring football schedule
Cooks put their own twist on matzo recipes
‘Coffee fund’ deal a trend? Not likely Ex-Vice President Albanese pleads guilty to misdemeanor By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – The eight remaining Northern Illinois University employees facing criminal charges in connection with the “coffee fund” investigation might not follow their former supervisor’s lead
of entering a plea agreement. Defense attorneys for two of the remaining defendants insist their clients did nothing wrong. Meanwhile, a Chicago legal expert cautioned a felony conviction would strip them of their pension and any conviction could risk their university jobs.
The coffee fund was an off-the-books repository for proceeds from the sale of NIUowned scrap metal and other materials. The account accumulated at least $13,000 since 2005 but held $2,187 when it was closed in August. The money was used for office retirement parties and similar
expenses, NIU officials have said. Robert Albanese, former associate vice president of the Division of Finance and Facilities at NIU, pleaded guilty to violating the State Property Control Act, a Class B misdemeanor, and prosecutors dropped felony charges of
theft and official misconduct. Albanese was sentenced to 18 months of court supervision and fined $825. Richard Larson, who represents NIU employee Kenneth Pugh, said although his client faces the same charges,
Robert Albanese Former associate vice president of the Division of Finance and Facilities at NIU, pleaded guilty to violating the State Property Control Act.
See PLEA, page A3
Assault weapons ban goes down
CLINTON ROSETTE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS PLEDGE RESPECT
Dropped from Dems’ Senate bill By ALAN FRAM The Associated Press WASHINGTON – An assault weapons ban won’t be in the gun-control legislation that Democrats bring to the Senate floor next month, a decision that means the ban’s chances of survival now are all but hopeless. The ban is the most controversial firearms restriction that President Barack Obama and other Democrats have pressed for since an assault-type weapon was used in the December massacre at an elementary school Sen. Dianne i n N e w t o w n , Feinstein Conn. Rejection D-Calif. by Congress would be a major victory for the National Rifle Association and its supporters and a setback for Obama and the provision’s sponsor, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In a tactical decision, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., concluded that including the prohibition in the gun bill would jeopardize the chances for passage of any firearms legislation at all, taking away votes needed to overcome Republican attempts to block the Senate from even taking up the issue. “I very much regret it,” Feinstein said Tuesday of the choice that Reid told her he had made. “I tried my best. But my best, I guess, wasn’t good enough.” Feinstein’s proposal to prohibit military-style weapons will get a vote as an amendment to the gun legislation that Democrats debate. But she is all but certain to need 60 votes to prevail, and she faces solid Republican opposition as well as likely defections from some Democrats. Reid told reporters that “using the most optimistic numbers,” there were less than 40 votes for Feinstein’s ban. That is far less than the 60 votes needed to move contested legislation in the chamber, which has 53 Democrats plus two independents who usually back them.
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Clinton Rosette Middle School students (from front to back) AJ Petersen, Chad Canaday and Jake Neidel finish signing their names on a poster Tuesday in a pledge to never use the word ‘retard’ again in a derogatory manner.
Fighting hurtful speech In schoolwide campaign, students vow to abolish the ‘r-word’ By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The doctors told Marielle Ostling’s parents that giving birth to her twin brother would be a big mistake. Ostling’s brother was born with cognitive and physical disabilities, and from day one, he’s been a huge part of her life, she said. She loves him, and she’s saddened that the challenges he faces aren’t limited to his medical disabilities. “I can remember in high school, I found some students who were picking on my brother and calling him and his friends ‘retards,’ ” Ostling said. Now a student-teacher at Clinton Rosette Middle School, Ostling joined other teachers and faculty members Tuesday in a schoolwide effort to stop people from using the word “retard” – and all of its variations – in a derogatory manner. During their 20-minute advisory period, students listened to
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If people know, people won’t use it. A lot of people don’t think twice about using it. Holly Wesson, special education teacher at Clinton Rosette Middle School
On the Web To find out more about the pledge CRMS students have taken, visit the Spread the Word to End the Word’s website at www.r-word.org.
presentations and watched videos about the “r-word.” In many of the videos, people talked about how hurt they felt when they overheard somebody use the word as a substitute for worthless, stupid or ridic-
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ulous. Several materials came from Spread the Word to End the Word – a nationwide movement to get people to stop using the word in that way. During their lunch hours, students signed a massive banner, indicating their pledge to not use the word in a derogatory way. Special education teacher Holly Wesson described Tuesday as their way to help eliminate the word. Like other teachers, she said she often hears the word used by students
as a way to say: “Oh, you did something silly, or you’re acting silly.” “But it’s hurtful to people like me,” Wesson told Ostling’s class of seventh-graders. Nearly all of the students in Ostling’s advisory period said they had heard others use the word, but only a small minority of them said they told someone to stop. That’s the real goal of the day, Wesson said. But she realizes it won’t be easy, stating that the word is used regularly by people to describe something they don’t like. On Monday, Wesson had a physical reaction to a character on a reality TV show using the r-word in a derogatory manner. “If people know, people won’t use it,” Wesson said. “A lot of people don’t think twice about using it.” Eighth-grader Thomas Wuchte and his friends said they have been
See PLEDGE, page A2
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