DDC-8-14-2013

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Serving DeKalb County since 1879

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

NIU FOOTBALL • SPORTS, B1

WEEKNIGHT STAPLES • FOOD, C1

Huskies relying on a rotation in the backfield

3 fresh takes on the basic chicken breast Keith Harris Jr.

Curl seeks to overturn plea deal Alleges prosecutors threatened his son during trial for killing NIU student By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – William “Billy” Curl wants a judge to toss his 37year prison sentence for murdering Northern Illinois University student Antinette “Toni” Keller, claiming prosecutors threatened his 13-year-old son.

Curl, 36, of DeKalb, filed the four-page handwritten motion from Menard Correctional Center. He claimed that his dyslexia, speech impediment and “great difficulty” reading and writing prevented him from understanding the finality of the plea agreement he accepted April 3. He also claimed prosecutors threatened

On the Web To read Curl’s motion to withdraw his plea, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.

to go after his son, which scared him into taking the plea agreement.

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack said Curl’s request was filed July 22, well past the 30-day deadline. In the court document, Curl didn’t detail how prosecutors allegedly threatened his son, but Curl’s son was listed as a possible witness for the trial, Schmack said. “If it comes to a point where

we have to respond to something beyond the fact that he was not timely in filing this, we’re certainly going to ask for more specifics in what he means by threatening,” Schmack said. Prosecutors never considered filing charges against the

William “Billy” Curl, 36, of DeKalb

See PLEA DEAL, page A2

Building a green foundation

D-427 to meet on pact Friday Teachers contract to be reapproved By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com

Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com

Police Chief Gene Lowery discusses on Monday the heating, ventilation and air conditioning components used in the new DeKalb police station on Lincoln Highway. By CHRIS BURROWS cburrows@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Bill Finucane has worked to make DeKalb greener since well before he captured a seat on the City Council. He was a longtime member of the Citizens’ Environmental Commission that advises the council and a driving force behind Northern Illinois University’s conversion to hybrid fleet vehicles as the school’s transportation manager. “Personally, I own two [Toyota]

DeKalb construction projects pursuing environmental designs Priuses,” he said before boasting of the fuel efficiency – 53.5 mpg – that he achieved on a recent road trip. So when DeKalb Public Library leaders announced plans to pursue the possibility of a national environmental certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for their expansion and renovation

project, they earned Finucane’s instant support. “It would be good for every bit of new construction or remodeling to take into account sustainability,” Finucane said. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, 1,373 construction projects in Illinois have either

applied for or received certification in its Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design program, but only three buildings in DeKalb County have applied to the program. The DeKalb Public Library could become the fourth. Library board members voted Aug. 7 to begin the LEED registration process, but they are waiting to find out what construction costs could entail before locking into LEED.

See GREEN, page A4

Neal Thompson of St. Louis pauses Tuesday on Route 64 west of Sycamore. He has walked more than 20,000 miles in 45 states, with a goal of sharing the gospel.

Robed man treks across county He’s headed back to St. Louis on foot

Voice your opinion What’s the farthest you’ve ever walked? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.

By CURTIS CLEGG cclegg@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Neal Thompson attracted a lot of attention as he passed through DeKalb County on foot Monday and Tuesday. The bearded, 59-year-old resident of St. Louis was dressed in layers of all-white clothing, carrying a staff and wearing a large wooden cross when he arrived

by train Aug. 4 in Chicago. After a quick visit to Lake Michigan’s lakefront, he headed west on Chicago’s North Avenue, which becomes Route 64. Thompson said he travels to a different location every year, usually by bus or train, then walks back to St. Louis. He has been making the treks for 15

years, and said on average, he can cover a mile in about 45 minutes. “Every year I go out from four days to six weeks,” he said. “On average, I walk 11 hours a day, but lately it has been closer to 12.” Thompson uses the walks as an opportunity to share the gospel and stories of his personal journey to becoming a Christian. He has walked more than 20,000 miles of roads in 45 states and “all corners of the United States,” he said.

Curtis Clegg – cclegg@ shawmedia.com

See TREK, page A4

SYCAMORE – Sycamore School District 427 on Tuesday released an agenda for a special school board meeting Friday that includes an item to reapprove a contract between the district and its teachers union. The meeting will be at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Administration Building, 245 W. Exchange St. in Sycamore. The district’s first approval of the contract came at a meeting last week, which the school district held without notifying the Daily Chronicle. The failure to notify the Chronicle was an apparent violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act, which requires public bodies to give notice of special meetings to all news media that file an annual request for notice, which the Daily Chronicle sent to the school district in January. District officials contacted school board members but did not notify the newspaper. Superintendent Kathy Countryman said last week that she had received the Daily Chronicle’s annual request and the district’s failure to notify the newspaper was unintentional. Eric Olson, editor of the Daily Chronicle, said the newspaper was not asking for special treatment, simply for the notice it requested in accordance with the state’s Open Meetings Act. “I appreciate the District 427 school board’s decision to hold another meeting to approve this contract,” Olson said. “It shows they have respect for the rules governing public access to meetings. I believe this was an honest mistake, and I’m

See D-427, page A4

If you go What: Sycamore School District 427 special meeting When: 7:30 a.m. Friday Where: 245 W. Exchange St., Sycamore

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