75 cents
Breaking eaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
T y, January 23, 2014 Thursday,
AWARD PREDICTIONS
PREP BASKETBALL
Tough choices at Grammys A&E, C1
Coaches would trade travel for better system Sports, B1
D-428: Closing school not possible Officials: There’s no space for Cortland Elementary students in other buildings By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Some Cortland Elementary School parents want DeKalb School District 428 to close the school, but district officials said there’s
Ill. seeks housing as health care link
no room for the roughly 530 students in the district’s other buildings. Since a foul odor that was released by crews working at Waste Management’s DeKalb County Landfill entered the school and sickened
people Jan. 14, some parents have questioned why Cortland students can’t be taught elsewhere while the landfill incident is investigated. Chesebro Elementary, a building District 428 closed in the summer of 2011, has surfaced
as one option some parents believe the district should explore. School board members have said they want to take 30 days to come up with an action plan on the issue and have not said they have any
plan to close the school. However, there are few good options for accommodating displaced students if Cortland were closed, district officials said. Cost and space constraints mean Chesebro isn’t an option, they said.
Although it has moved away from using it as one, the district in the fall evaluated Chesebro’s viability as a pre-kindergarten/ early childhood education center.
See CORTLAND, page A4
MAKING the ROUNDS
By CARLA K. JOHNSON The Associated Press CHICAGO – Broderick Alexander lived on the streets for more than two years in Chicago, but since 2005, he has slept in his own apartment. A case manager visits once a month, helping the 48-year-old set goals as part of a program that links housing to health care. Knowing he has a safe place to return at night, Alexander said, helps him focus on taking his medications and staying out of the emergency room. “My five- to seven-year goal is to become independent of all social service programs and leave this housing opportunity for someone else to have,” Alexander said, adding that he is looking for a job as a commercial truck driver. Since the 1990s, a movement toward housing-ashealth care that started in New York City has spread to several cities, including Chicago, Seattle and Toronto. In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn now wants to expand such supportive housing – typically apartments with subsidized rent and help from social workers – by using federal and state Medicaid dollars. Quinn’s administration is making its pitch by promising future savings in health care costs. Federal rules don’t allow states to build housing or pay rent with federal Medicaid money, but states can seek permission to try new approaches. At a legislative committee hearing held Wednesday in Chicago, officials said the Quinn administration’s entire Medicaid waiver proposal – which goes beyond housing to restructure much of the state’s Medicaid system – would bring in, if approved, $3.2 billion in new federal funds over five years.
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
DeKalb City Manager Anne Marie Gaura shakes hands with firefighter/paramedic Jason Pavlak during a visit Wednesday, her second day on the job, to Fire Station No. 1. Gaura has been meeting with city employees during her first couple of days and plans on meeting with community members in her second week.
DeKalb’s new city manager busy introducing herself By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com DeKALB – It has been a busy couple of days for new DeKalb City Manager Anne Marie Gaura. Her first day on the job was Tuesday, when she met with DeKalb police officers, toured the new police station, met with local firefighters and toured the DeKalb Municipal Building. She met more firefighters Wednesday, spoke with DeKalb Mayor John Rey and assistant city manager Rudy Espiritu, and met with public works officials. Today, Gaura will meet with more police officers and firefighters and attend the DeKalb Chamber
of Commerce’s annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Faranda’s Banquets, 302 Grove St., DeKalb. “I’ll reach out to City Council members [and other officials] about issues facing the city and have them give me a tour [of DeKalb] through their eyes,” Gaura said. “Everyone sees things differently.” Gaura said this week her focus is on meeting public employees, while next week she will focus on the community. Gaura has already been briefed on the possibility of creating a tax increment financing district on South Fourth Street to spur economic growth there. That issue is on Monday’s City Council agenda.
She also will meet with economic development experts about the history of the downtown area. Many in the community have welcomed Gaura, a Northern Illinois University alumna who comes to DeKalb after serving as interim director of engineering and public works in Schaumburg. They also have shared some of their ideas on how to improve DeKalb. Rey said they will discuss major initiatives such as the city center plan, an initiative geared toward the next phase in downtown redevelopment, focusing on the stretch of Lincoln Highway between First
“I’ll reach out to City Council members [and other officials] about issues facing the city and have them give me a tour [of DeKalb] through their eyes. Everyone sees things differently.” Anne Marie Gaura New DeKalb city manager
See CITY MANAGER, page A4
See HOUSING, page A4
Weather
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
A2, A4 A5 B1-8
Advice Comics Classified
C5 C6 C7-8
High:
3
How do I know if I have vein disease? Symptoms: • Bulging, rope like leg veins • Aching, burning, itching legs • Sore, tired or restless legs • Discoloration of ankles If you experience these symptoms, you need to call us today.
Low:
-10