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BOYS SOCCER • SPORTS, B1
T y, October 8, 2013 Tuesday,
GOVERNMENT • LOCAL, A3
Senior from Ghana leading the Barbs on soccer field
DeKalb’s Akim Suraji
Sycamore senior learning the ropes in county office
$5K to help host IHSA title tilts Football championships expected to boost local economy with help from Sycamore By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Sycamore city officials became the latest contributor to help host high school football championship games in DeKalb. On Monday, City Council members unanimously approved of pitching a $5,000 contribution for the Illinois High School As-
sociation championship series, which will be held Nov. 29 and 30 at Northern Illinois University’s Huskie Stadium. Sycamore City Manager Brian Gregory said the money comes from a hotel and motel tax fund that has a budget of about $225,000. Gregory said he is confident the city will receive a return on its investment. “Obviously, we’re going to see
some economic impact,” he said. The championship games have been held exclusively in Champaign since 1999 but, for the next 10 years, will be held in odd-numbered years at Huskie Stadium. Based on the turnout from the games in Champaign, DeKalb County can expect more than 30,000 people to attend the games, said Tom Matya, chairman of the IHSA Destination DeKalb Host
Committee. “We think the number will exceed that because 12 of the 16 teams normally come from north of I-80,” he said. “So we believe there is going to be an even larger attendance at this event.” The games are also expected to generate between $750,000 to $1 million for the local economy, he said. The people who come will lodge in the communities and gas
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up their vehicles in the area. The IHSA Destination DeKalb Host Committee is trying raise $225,000 for the cost of the event. The committee has secured sponsors such as the city of DeKalb, DeKalb County Board and KishHealth System to offset the costs. Each of them have contributed $25,000.
See IHSA, page A5
Health law glitches: fleeting or fatal? By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR The Associated Press
Erik Anderson for Shaw Media
Members of Safe Passage, friends and family and volunteers walk down North First Street for a candlelight vigil during the 19th Annual Domestic Violence Vigil held Monday at First Congregational United Church of Christ in DeKalb.
Annual vigil marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI
Where to go
jduchnowski@shawmedia.com
Safe Passage • Emergency shelter • Transitional housing • Counseling for children and adults • Court advocates • Domestic abuse hotline: 815-756-5228
D
eKALB – Heather Tomlinson doesn’t think about her past too much. The 32-year-old doesn’t think about the family and relationship abuse that led to her call Safe Passage of DeKalb County about a year ago, threatening suicide. She doesn’t think about the legal battles or the counselling that taught her suicidal thoughts are a wish for an escape, not a death wish. Instead, she works, volunteers and attends church and PTO meetings. She lives in Safe Passage’s transitional housing and recently regained custody of her daughter. She shared her story Monday at First Congregational United Church of Christ for Safe Passage’s 19th Annual Domestic Violence Vigil, which marked Domestic Violence Awareness Month. “I do everything I can to make sure my children are happy and healthy and fed and have ambition toward life,” Tomlinson said.
WASHINGTON – The glitch-ridden rollout of President Barack Obama’s health care law has opponents crowing: “Told you so!” and insisting it should be paused, if not scrapped. But others, including insurance companies, say there’s still enough time to fix the online enrollment system before uninsured Americans start getting coverage Jan. 1. After emergency repairs over the weekend, consumers in different parts of the country Monday continued to report delays on healthcare. gov, as well as problems setting up security questions for their accounts. The administration says the site’s crowded electronic “waiting room” is thinning out. Still, officials announced it would be down again for a few hours starting at early this morning for more upgrades and fixes. Despite the confusion, the insurance industry has held off public criticism. Alarmed that only a trickle of customers got through initially, insurers now say enrollments are starting to come in and they expect things to improve. The last major federal health care launch – the Medicare prescription program in 2006 – also had big startup problems. Government leaders who oversaw it say things could look very different in a couple of months for Obama’s law if the administration manages to get a grip on the situation. “There wasn’t enough time for testing, so the dress rehearsal became opening night,” said Michael Leavitt, who as President George W. Bush’s top health official, was responsible for the Medicare drug plan debut.
See HEALTH, page A5
Voice your opinion Do you know someone affected by domestic violence? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Erik Anderson for Shaw Media
Safe Passage workers read an anonymous story to the audience during the 19th Annual Domestic Violence Vigil at First Congregational United Church of Christ in DeKalb. “My daughter understands there are things that are wrong that her father and I both do, but then again, she still respects both of us because we all make mistakes.” About 70 people listened as Tom-
linson and other domestic violence survivors shared their stories, one woman acknowledging that she had been an abuser as well as abused, and other survivors asking Safe Passage personnel to read their sto-
ries for them. Afterward, the group prayed and walked around the neighborhood carrying candles. Jennifer Morrow, 29, recounted the abuse she faced from her alcoholic father who slipped into a coma when she was 11, from her adoptive family and from a later relationship, wasn’t normal until she started counseling with Safe Passage.
See VIGIL, page A5
AP file photo
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is in a news conference Sept. 18 in Salt Lake City. Leavitt, who as President George W. Bush’s top health official, oversaw the troubled debut of the Medicare prescription plan said: “There wasn’t enough time for testing, so the dress rehearsal became opening night.”
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