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GE workers bid farewell to factory DeKalb plant closes doors; had opened in city in 1946 By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Jim Cradduck pushed a rusty tool cart out of the DeKalb General Electric plant Thursday morning, knowing no one would care about the tools inside once the plant permanently closed. The tools have been at Cradduck’s side for the 41 years the 59-year-old Kirkland resident worked at the GE small motors plant. So when he left work for the last time, the tools came, too. “It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Cradduck said, piling the tool cart into the back of his car. “It’s a shame that it closed. We’ve had a lot of good people here. Ever since they made the announcement, I’ve been thinking about what I’d do next.” Cradduck was one of the first workers at the General Electric small motors plant in DeKalb who walked out of the factory at 1900 Pleasant St. for the last time Thursday as it closed its doors after almost 70 years in DeKalb. Workers on Thursday began to cleaning some of the factory and had lunch provided by the company. Some received retire-
ment and severance prizes. All the while, the factory was quiet. Bob Craycraft walked out the plant Thursday morning with an armful of certificates recognizing his nearly four decades of work. In his other hand he carried work boots, which he said will now become garden boots. Craycraft started working at GE in 1975 at age 19. His mother, Elsie Craycraft, worked at the plant for decades before she retired in 1976. Craycraft was one of 94 employees affected by the closure, and one of roughly half of those to receive retirement benefits. The other half will receive plant-closing benefits. Craycraft had planned to retire anyway in a year or two, but he said that didn’t make saying goodbye to people he considered a second family any easier. “I’ve watched their kids grow up,” Craycraft said. “I’ve watched their grandkids grow up through pictures. Good cooking and always have fun. That’s what I’ll remember.” General Electric notified workers in January 2014 that it planned to close the DeKalb
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Tim Suter, president of The Suter Company in Sycamore, cracks a joke Thursday while accepting the Clifford Danielson Outstanding Citizen Award during the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce’s 100th annual meeting at St. Mary’s Church Memorial Hall in Sycamore.
Community leaders lauded Sycamore Chamber honors Suter as outstanding citizen By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com
See CLOSED, page A6
Sycamore Chamber Executive Director Rose Treml (right) high-fives Beth Willey, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for American Midwest Bank, after she opened the annual meeting of the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce.
2015 Sycamore Chamber of Commerce honorees
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Pushing his tool chest filled with tools accumulated over his 41 years working at the General Electric plant in DeKalb, Jim Cradduck, 59, leaves after his last day of work on Thursday. The GE plant has operated on Pleasant Street in DeKalb since 1946.
• Clifford Danielson Outstanding Citizen Award: Tim Suter • Discover Diamond: Sycamore Public Library • The Chamber Spirit of Small Business: Blumen Gardens • The Chamber Outstanding Business: KishHealth System • Chamber Champion: Illinois Army National Guard
SYCAMORE – Heidi Wright told a room of 361 people Thursday how The Suter Company President and CEO Tim Suter interviewed her for her job 14 years ago wearing jeans and tennis shoes. She told them they wouldn’t hear him talk about his role in founding a water project in Mozambique about 10 years ago, and she told the crowd how he honed his humble, quiet style by defining his values rather than following others’ leadership rules. Wright, who is The Suter Company’s vice president of marketing and sales, also said he doesn’t really seek recognition. “If you look at him right now, he is not looking really comfortable,” she joked. Indeed, Suter paused for a long moment, as if composing himself, before he accepted the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce’s Clifford Danielson Outstanding Citizen Award. The honor was the first of five awards presented at the chamber’s annual meeting, which also marked the organization’s 100th anniversary. As he listened to Wright speak, Suter later said, he was thinking he had picked the right person to introduce him; he appreciated her mix of
See AWARDS, page A6
Gov. Rauner wants bureaucratic cuts in education, elsewhere By DAVID MERCER The Associated Press CHAMPAIGN – Gov. Bruce Rauner wants to generate more money to spend on higher education, he told a crowd at the University of Illinois’ flagship campus Thursday, but he wants school administrators to take a first step by better managing finances and reducing costs. The new Republican governor continued to advocate limits on union influence, saying public-employee unions shouldn’t be able to help finance the campaigns of politicians with whom they negotiate contracts. In his speech at the I Hotel
and during a brief session with reporters, Rauner repeated themes aimed at improving the state’s business climate and economy that he’s stressed in other appearances around the state during his first month – all previews of his first State of the State Address on Feb. 4 and his Feb. 18 budget address. He said the University of Illinois is a strong driver of a better, more economically fit Illinois. For the school to be well-financed and draw the best faculty, it must first look for places to cut spending. “We have got to deal with the bureaucracies – I’m going to demand that we do it,” he said. He also said the university
AP photo/Rick Danzl – News-Gazette
Gov. Bruce Rauner talks with the media Thursday after speaking at the University of Illinois in Champaign. “was on the right track” when pus Chancellor Phyllis Wise it froze tuition for the coming listened to Rauner from a few year. Urbana-Champaign cam- feet away and said he delivered
a powerful message – one the university will heed. “We can point out some things that I think can really help,” said Wise, who was a member of Rauner’s transition team. “We’re ready to share the pain with the citizens of the state of Illinois. We have to figure out how we can be efficient.” Wise has said she expects tighter state funding but doesn’t see wage freezes and employee furloughs as options to help control spending. About 30 percent of the university’s $5.6 billion budget comes from state funding. Rauner also told the packed conference room that conflicts of interest bog
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Church members set challenge to fill local pantry / B10
NIU programs undergoing review amidst declining enrollment, revenue / A3
Akst: NIU to struggle enforcing smoke-free policy / A2
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down Illinois’ competitiveness. “Groups that contract with the state should not be making campaign contributions to the people across the table with whom they’re negotiating,” he said, while adding that he isn’t anti-union. Earlier this week, Rauner proposed right-to-work zones in the state, in which employees could choose whether to pay union dues. Outside the hotel, about 120 union workers and their supporters picketed in 35-degree weather. Matthew Kelly, president of the Champaign County Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, said the unions feel singled out by Rauner.
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