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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
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NATIONAL ADDRESS ON SYRIA
Obama delays vote
Two vacant seats filled on Metra Board County rep cleared of wrongdoing By KEVIN P. CRAVER
At a glance
kcraver@shawmedia.com
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President Barack Obama addresses the nation Tuesday in a live televised speech from the East Room of the White House in Washington. Obama blended the threat of military action with the hope of a diplomatic solution as he works to strip Syria of its chemical weapons.
President: Diplomacy may work without force The ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama told the nation from the White House on Tuesday night that diplomacy suddenly holds “the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons” in Syria without use of force, but he declared the U.S. military will “be ready to respond” against President Bashar Assad if other measures fail. For now, Obama said he had asked congressional leaders to postpone a vote on legislation he has been seeking to authorize the use of military force against Syria. In a 16-minute speech, the president repeatedly offered reassurances that even the failure of diplomacy – in promised talks at the United Nations or elsewhere – would not plunge America into another war. “I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria,” he promised. “I will not pursue an open-ended action
like Iraq or Afghanistan. I will not pursue a prolonged air campaign like Libya or Kosovo.” “This would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective: deterring the use of chemical weapons and degrading Assad’s capabilities,” he said. The speech capped a frenzied 10day stretch of events that began when he unexpectedly announced he was stepping back from a threatened military strike and instead asking Congress first to pass legislation authorizing the use of such force against Assad. With public opinion polls consistently showing widespread opposition to American military intervention, the White House has struggled mightily to generate support among lawmakers – liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans alike – who have expressed fears of involvement in yet another war in the Middle East
and have questioned whether U.S. national security interests were at stake in Syria. Obama had trouble, as well, building international support for a military attack designed to degrade Assad’s military. Suddenly, though, events took another unexpected turn this week. First Russia and then Syria reacted positively to a remark from Secretary of State John Kerry indicating that the crisis could be defused if Damascus agreed to put its chemical weapons under international control. The president said he was sending Kerry to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, and he added, “I will continue my own discussion” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has said he had been discussing ways out of the Syrian predicament for some time.
See OBAMA, page A5
“I do not believe the President and his administration have made a convincing case to the American people that striking Syria with military force is in the best interest of our nation. I welcome constructive diplomatic efforts and will look seriously at any proposal that takes chemical weapons out of the hands of Assad – or rebel factions – and places them under secure international monitoring and control.” – U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Winfield, in a news release
LOCALLY SPEAKING
Cary-Grove’s Meghan Seymour Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
The embattled Metra Board now has the minimum membership necessary to elect a chairman in the wake of five scandal-tainted resignations. And the votes Tuesday to fill two of the vacancies come in the wake of a memo absolving Jack Schaffer, McHenry County’s representative, of wrongdoing in forwarding confidential documents to former CEO Alex Clifford, whose resignation sparked the scandal. The DuPage and Kane county boards Tuesday filled their vacant seats on the 11-member board with former county board member John Zediker and former bankruptcy judge Manuel Barbosa. The votes bring the Metra Board up to eight members, the minimum under its bylaws needed to elect a chairman and, eventually, a permanent replacement for Clifford. The board could be
The DuPage and Kane county boards Tuesday filled their vacant seats on the 11-member board with former county board member John Zediker and former bankruptcy judge Manuel Barbosa. The votes bring the Metra Board up to eight members, the minimum under its bylaws needed to elect a chairman and, eventually, a permanent replacement for former CEO Alex Clifford. brought up to nine if the Chicago City Council approves Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pick of former Alderman Martin Oberman. Schaffer was under fire after reports surfaced that he forwarded internal documents to Clifford in the months before his ouster, for which Schaffer cast the sole opposing vote. Critics charged the information may have enabled Clifford to wrangle his hefty separation
See METRA, page A5
9/11 ceremony will be a quiet ‘last’ for N.Y.’s Bloomberg By JENNIFER PELTZ The Associated Press NEW YORK – When this year’s Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony unfolds at ground zero, the mayor who has helped orchestrate the observances from their start will be watching for his last time in office. And saying nothing. Over his years as mayor and chairman of the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum, Michael Bloomberg has sometimes tangled with victims’ relatives, religious leaders and other elected officials over an event steeped in symbolism and emotion. But his administration has largely succeeded at its goal of keeping the commemoration centered on the attacks’ victims and their families and relatively free of political image-mak-
CRYSTAL LAKE
WOODSTOCK
HEARING SET IN BLEACHER SUIT
KEMPERSPORTS TO MANAGE GOLF CLUB
A courtroom showdown among a group of Crystal Lake residents, Community School District 155, the city of Crystal Lake and the McHenry County regional superintendent is set for Nov. 7 if no out-of-court settlement is reached. Residents are unhappy with the $1.8 million bleacher expansion project at Crystal Lake South High School. For more, see page B1.
A golf club that once was in jeopardy of foreclosure selected nationally recognized KemperSports to manage its operations. The Bull Valley Golf Club selected the Northbrook-based management company in hopes of making the club a top golf destination for players in the greater Chicago and Milwaukee area, club owner Gary Rabine said. For more, see page E1.
CARY: Cary-Grove volleyball shines in Game 3 to beat Prairie Ridge. Sports, C1
Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, has helped orchestrate 9/11 observances over the past several years. ing. In that spirit, no politicians – including the mayor – were allowed to speak last year or will be this year. Memorial organizers expect to take primary responsibility for the ceremony next year and say they plan to continue concentrating the event on victims’ loved ones, even as the forthcoming museum creates a new, broader framework for remembering 9/11. “As things evolve in the future, the focus on the
See 9/11, page A5
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