WEDNESDAY
Jan u ar y 2 1, 2 01 5 • $1 . 0 0
ROLLING ALONG Sycamore girls dominate Kaneland / B1 HIGH
LOW
33 21 Complete forecast on page A8
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Obama focuses on middle class Hultgren and Kinzinger pan address, disappointed with tone By JULIE PACE The Associated Press WASHINGTON – Refusing to bend to the new Republican Congress, President Barack Obama unveiled Tuesday night an ambitious State of the Union agenda steeped in Democratic priorities, including tax increases on the wealthy, education and child care help for the middle class and a torrent of veto threats for the GOP’s own plans.
In a shift from tradition, Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress was less a laundry list of new proposals and more an attempt to sell a story of national economic revival. He appealed for “better politics” in Washington and pledged to work with Republicans, but he showed few signs of curtailing or tweaking his own plans to meet GOP priorities. It was a tone that U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channa-
hon, found “very combative,” especially compared with past State of the Union addresses. Kinzinger’s district includes most of DeKalb County, including the cities of DeKalb and Genoa. “I didn’t sense a lot of, ‘Hey, you guys won the election, let’s see how we can work together,’” Kinzinger said. “... I also was a little disappointed by revisiting what seemed to be class warfare again.” The president vowed to use his veto pen to strike down the Republican leadership’s efforts to dismantle his signature accomplishments, including his health care and financial reform laws.
“We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got a system to fix,” Obama said. “And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it.” Those veto threats were a sign to U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Plano, that Obama was insincere about working with the opposing party. Hultgren, whose district includes Sycamore, the east side of DeKalb County, and parts of six other counties, predicted Obama
See OBAMA, page A6
AP photo
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Heating season not finished
Strike by faculty at Kishwaukee suspended Union waiting on contract draft before ratifying deal By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com
Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Service technician Kevin Smrz, with Breezy’s Heating and Air Conditioning, removes the flame sensor Jan. 14 before cleaning it during a routine furnace clean and check at a home in DeKalb.
Experts recommend cleaning furnace annually to cut heating costs By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com
A
lthough snow may be melting and temperatures may have climbed out of the single digits, beware – winter is coming. Still. With February historically providing very cold temperatures and heavy snowfall, residents should expect to fire up their heaters to stay toasty. But cranking up home heating systems, whether they run on electricity or gas, cranks up other aspects, as well – including utility bills, and fire and carbon monoxide hazards. Heating and air conditioning companies have been busy so far this year – particularly the week of frigid temperatures seen toward the beginning of January – fixing furnaces and making sure they are prepared for the worst still to come. “It seems like winter is shifting to start later and run later,” said Chris Carpenter, owner of One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning in DeKalb. “Having the
Nicor Gas customers bill outlook How this year’s estimated home heating costs for the winter period compare with the past two years: Winter Period (November to March) 2012-2013 (Act.) 2013-2014 (Act.) 2014-2015 (Est.)
Avg. residential bill
Pct. increase
$490 $650 $510
32.7 -21.5
Percentage increase from 2012 to present: 4 percent
Source: Nicor Gas tune-up once a year is a positive thing. You can increase the efficiency and find problems before they happen.” Furnace cleaning should be done annually and, ideally, before winter blows in, said Kevin Smrz, a technician at Breezy’s Heating and Air Conditioning in Sycamore. He said he’s been busy with repairs at residential and commercial buildings across the county this season. “People don’t realize that flame sensors need to be cleaned on an annual basis,” Smrz said.
“It’ll last a couple of years in some cases, but it’ll eventually get dirty and they have to give us a call.” Different factors, such as the size and age of the house, come into play when heating a home, Smrz said. A new house generally will be less drafty and heat up more efficiently than an old one, and a small apartment will heat up faster than a two-story house. When it comes to heating, there are pros and cons to choosing either electric or gas, particularly as they pertain to safety and cost-cutting.
“Typically, you can see 30 to 35 percent in savings by using high-efficiency gas,” Carpenter said. For the five-month period that will end in March, the average residential gas bill is estimated to be $510, down 21.5 percent the same period a year ago, when frigid winter weather pushed heating costs to an average of $650. The cost will be about four percent more than the November 2012-March 2013 time frame, according to Jae Miller, spokeswoman for Nicor Gas, which provides service to Northern Illinois. Those figures represent Nicor customers as a whole and could not be broken down by municipality, Miller said. The price for ComEd electricity through May is 7.52 cents a killowatt hour, which includes the electrical supply and transmission services charge, but not delivery service charges, according to the company’s website. But with furnaces, proper care always is the best way to keep costs down, said Tom Dahlquist,
MALTA – Union faculty members at Kishwaukee College on Tuesday voted to suspend a strike planned for today and scheduled a vote next week on ratifying the tentative contract agreement negotiators met Monday. The college’s attorney did not provide the union with an official contract before Tuesday’s union membership meeting, so members could not ratify it, said Matt Read, Kishwaukee College Education Association president. The union will print copies for all 81 union members to review before moving forward with a vote, which will take place over 24 hours starting Tuesday, union leaders said. “Everyone is remaining cautiously optimistic as we move forward,” Read said. Union leaders maintain a tentative agreement reached last August contained language that differed from what was agreed upon during negotiations – although the college disputes that claim. The union wants to make sure there’s no repeat of the August incident, said Kenzo Shibata, spokesman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which is representing Kishwaukee faculty during negotiations. “All members will have will have time to review the contract,” Shibata said. “We wanted to avoid a strike by all means.” The tentative agreement was made Monday, while the college was closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Negotiations were originally scheduled for this evening with a federal moderator, hours after the union’s plan for a strike would have canceled classes for 3,500 full- and part-time students. Kishwaukee College Board of Trustees had planned to vote on the new contract at a special meeting at 8 a.m. Friday morning if it was ratified by union members. But college leaders will reschedule that meeting for next week in light of the union’s schedule, college President Tom Choice said. The special meeting was announced before union leaders publicized the ratification vote plans. “There’s no point in meeting until they ratify the contract,” Choice said. Faculty and administrators have been in contention over contract negotiations for 10 months, even before their previous contract
See HEATING, page A6 See KISHWAUKEE, page A6
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Sheriff’s Office aims to cut fuel costs by using propane for cars / A3
D-428 schools could use $33M in capital improvements in next 5 years / A3
Individual burrito, pizza recipes perfect for game day / B10
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