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DeKalb’s 1st baby of ’15 welcomed Parents ‘super excited’ about daughter By DARIA SOKOLOVA dsokolova@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Newborn Esperanza Noelle Gonzalez was sleeping in her mother’s hands, while a crowd of relatives at her bedside looked on. Trisha Gonzalez said she and her husband, Javier Gonzalez, were “super excited” to welcome their first daughter, who also happened to be the first baby born in Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb this year. Born at 2:41 a.m. Thursday, the first baby of 2015 weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 20½ inches long, according to Javier Gonzalez, who said they had to switch names when they found out they were going to have a girl. “I think it fit her pretty
well, because we wanted to go with something meaningful, something in a way religious,” he said adding that in Spanish, “noelle” means “Christmas,” and “esperanza,” “hope.” Dubbed “the most perfect baby” by some of the relatives who were relentlessly snapping photographs and congratulating the new parents, Esperanza slept most of the time, her mother said. Aunt Lizette Gonzalez said she was “very, very excited” for Trisha and Javier. “I know they are going to be awesome parents,” she said. Dr. Nicole Wiepert said Esperanza was the first baby she had delivered on New Year’s Day in the past six years of working at Kishwaukee Hos-
pital. “It’s kind of an extra special delivery for me when I get to see them from the beginning to the end,” she said. “It was just an all very nice event.” Laughing off people’s comments about tax write-offs, Trisha Gonzalez said she didn’t care about when her baby was going to be born. “We weren’t even thinking we were going to be the first,” Javier Gonzalez said. “We don’t really care as long as the baby is fine.” With numerous well-wishers flocking to her room, Trisha Gonzalez said her daughter has been “a huge blessing.” “We just want her to grow up and be healthy and happy and well-loved,” she said.
Daria Sokolova – dsokolova@shawmedia.com
New grandmother Theresa Aurand takes a photo of her daughter Trisha Gonzalez, her husband Javier Gonzalez and their newborn daughter Esperanza Noelle Gonzalez, the first baby to be born in the new year. Esperanza arrived at 2:41 a.m. Thursday at Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb.
New year ushers in new laws for state
Generosity carries over
Animal protection, health measures among changes By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com People eager to rest after a night spent ringing in 2015 can travel home faster along the interstates around Chicago, starting New Year’s Day. But if a boater parties too much and operates under the influence, their boat can be impounded for the first time. Likewise, if underage kids are caught drinking inside cars, motor homes, campers and private planes, their parents now can be charged with a crime. As Illinoisans began a new year, they have 220 new laws that took effect Thursday that were approved by lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn. The highlights cover various issues, from transportation to wild animals. Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Joel Maurer, co-director of the food pantry at Sycamore United Methodist Church, looks over inventory at the end of the day Monday. The food pantry is open every Monday from noon to 4 p.m., and Maurer estimates they serve about 40 families a week.
Hearty donations give area food pantries strong start to new year Voice your opinion
By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com A photo hanging outside Sycamore United Methodist Church’s food pantry shows just how bad things can get. In August 2010, as the photo illustrates, the pantry shelves were almost bare – hardly any food was available for those in need. It’s nothing compared to how the pantry looked earlier this week: Cans upon cans lined the shelves. There were boxes of cereal aplenty. Breads were lined up for the taking. A new freezer was stuffed with meat. “People were very generous,” said Marlin Anderson, co-director of Sycamore UMC’s food pantry. “There’s a big demand for the holidays.” Now, local food pantries and donation services are heading into the less generous time of year. But this time they’re doing so with shelves still heartily stocked with plenty of
Did you donate to charity within the last week to get a tax write-off? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Black beans are among the many items on the shelves Monday at the food pantry in Sycamore United Methodist Church while volunteer Irene Steward is helping a Sycamore resident pick out his food. food, thanks to an unexpected amount of goodwill from charities over the holidays and newly forged business relationships. “This is a time when a lot of people are
thinking of their hungry neighbors,” said Donna Lake, spokeswoman for the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva, which serves 71,000 families a week throughout their 13-county service area. “As we transition into January and February, the issue may not be at the top of everyone’s mind. But hunger is still very much a reality.” Lake said local food banks were especially busy on New Year’s Eve as people rushed to get their donations in for the tax write-off. In April, Sycamore UMC, 160 Johnson Ave., began a business relationship with Aldi’s.
New transportation laws After lawmakers raised the speed limit to 70 mph on downstate interstates in 2014, they decided to do the same in 2015 for Chicago area interstates under the Illinois Tollway Authority’s control. Another bill, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Noland, D-Elgin, now prohibits police from taking a person’s driver’s license as bond after pulling them over for a minor traffic violation such as speeding. Illinois was one of six states that allowed police to confiscate licenses for minor traffic violations, according to Illinois Senate Republicans.
Boating Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, requires boaters towing a person to display an orange flag. The bill was inspired by Morrison’s nephew, Tony Borcia, a 10-year-old from Libertyville who died after
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