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Thursday, January 30, 2014
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Gov. touts accomplishments Local legislators poke holes in State of State’s list of goals, deeds By DEBBIE BEHRENDS dbehrends@shawmedia.com
Pat Quinn
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Gov. Pat Quinn focused on ways to create jobs and trumpeted his accomplishments with election-year flair Wednesday in an annual speech that fell on the five-year anniversary of lawmakers booting his predecessor, now imprisoned ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, from office. Quinn talked about inheriting an office laden with problems, such as a mounting pension cri-
sis, fiscal issues and corruption. He detailed his work to a turn them around and laid out a plan stressing job creation and education for the five years ahead, a nod to his re-election campaign. His plan for jobs included adding a small-business advocate to his staff, slashing the $500 fee to start a limited liability company to $39, paying more attention to early education and prenatal care, doubling the number of monetary award program scholarships for college students
and investing in a new Chicago center for medical technology startups. Area Republican legislators were united in their opinions about what they heard. “The governor talked in pretty rosy terms, sugarcoating the truth,” said state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon. “Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and a backlog of unpaid bills for many years. There’s a real disconnect there.” State Rep. Bob Pritchard,
R-Hinckley, said Quinn focused more on looking backward than what lies ahead. “It sounded like a campaign speech,” Pritchard said. “Illinois needs a bold vision for moving forward.” Pritchard said Quinn tried to take credit for job increases, but didn’t talk about unemployment. “He didn’t talk about out-migration,” Pritchard said. “People are voting with their feet.”
PROPANE PRICE SHOCK
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Gary Metcalf of Conserv FS attaches a hose from his truck to a propane tank before filling it Monday at a DeKalb business. Frigid temperatures and an already limited supply of propane have caused prices to soar in swatches across the country, including DeKalb County. Prices have risen from about $3 a gallon to $5 a gallon. By KATIE DAHLSTROM DeKALB – Crystal Kleppetsch is bracing for a January heating bill of about $2,000, more than triple what it normally costs to heat her farmhouse in rural DeKalb. Kleppetsch uses propane to heat her home, making her one of millions affected by the propane shortage sweeping the country. “We’re doing everything we can to figure it out,” Kleppetsch said. “We keep [the thermostat] at 63 degrees and wear extra layers. We’ve
Frigid weather, high costs have DeKalb County feeling fuel shortage thought about cutting back on groceries and going to the food pantry, getting rid of a cellphone bill or the internet.” Frigid temperatures and an already limited supply of propane have caused prices to soar in swatches across the country, including DeKalb County. The propane supply already had
been depleted because the wet fall caused farmers to use more propane than usual to dry their crops before putting them in storage. Compounding the shortage, the Cochin pipeline, which provided propane to Minnesota suppliers, was shut down during the fall. Then the wave of subzero temperatures hit the Midwest, increas-
Few details given about Malta man’s attack on family By KATIE DAHLSTROM
See QUINN, page A4
AREA’S HOME HEATING BILLS RISING
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Autopsy finished in fatal shooting
ing demand for the liquefied petroleum gas. Increased demand and shorter supply resulted in higher prices for the 5.5 million people the U.S. Department of Energy estimates use propane. Most of those customers are in the Midwest and the South. Brock Bentson, energy manager for Conserv FS, a company that supplies propane to more than 660 DeKalb County homes and businesses, said prices have risen from about $3 a gallon to $5 a gallon.
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Three local police officers were on paid administrative leave Wednesday after a Tuesday incident in which a DeKalb officer fatally shot a Malta man in the neck. DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said Wednesday that Cameron D. Lupton, 28, had no visible injuries besides the gunshot wound. A bullet entered the right side of Lupton’s neck and came to rest in his left lung, Miller said. Toxicology test results will not be available for a couple of weeks. DeKalb police Chief Gene Lowery said police shot Lupton about noon Tuesday when they found him attacking his father and stepmother with a knife, and that all indications “In the are that the use preliminary of force was jus- investigation tified. there is no Lupton, who indication this lived on the 100 is anything block of South Third Street in other than a Malta, was a justifiable use 2004 graduate of force.” – Gene of DeKalb High School and, ac- Lowery, cording to his DeKalb police Facebook pro- chief file, had served in the U.S. Army. A Lupton family member declined to be interviewed Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, Illinois State Police spokesman Sgt. Jose DeJesus could not estimate how long the investigation into Tuesday’s incident would take. “There is no way to say how long this will take,” DeJesus said. “But I can tell you it will be investigated thoroughly.” Both Northern Illinois University and DeKalb police went to a home on the 1000 block of Quail Run in DeKalb after dispatchers overheard a disturbance there while talking with Charlotte Lupton, 67, about a well-being check she had requested for a nearby home. Charlotte Lupton and her husband, Carl Lupton, 57, were taken to Kishwaukee Hospital for multiple stab wounds. A hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday that the Luptons
See PROPANE, page A3 See SHOOTING, page A4
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