MONDAY
Ja n u a r y 5 , 2 015 • $1 .0 0
SPARTANS, COGS SPLIT Sycamore girls beat Genoa-Kingston, but G-K boys beat Sycamore / B1
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Sycamore’s Madelyne Johnson
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SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
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Complete forecast on page A10
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ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT Q&A
Pension reform bill to be heard By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com How the Illinois Supreme Court rules on the pension reform law will have profound effects on the troubled state budget and the taxpayers who fund it. Justices will hear oral arguments this March on the constitutionality of the law, which was challenged by the state’s powerful public sector unions. The unions argue that the law, passed to rein in skyrocketing pension obligations that are eating an ever-growing percentage of the state budget, clearly violates the provision of the Illinois Constitution that protects pension benefits. The five state-run pension systems for teachers, rank-and-file state employees, college professors, judges
and state lawmakers are just under 43 percent funded, and carry a $111 billion unfunded liability, plus another $56 billion of unfunded debt for retirees’ health benefits. A bill passed by the General Assembly in December 2013 attempts to pare it down for four of the five systems – exempting judges – by reducing benefits for retirees and changing promised future benefits for existing workers. The law has been put on hold by court order. Under the disputed law, the 3 percent annual cost-of-living increase for employees is no longer compounded based on total salary, but on $1,000 for each year an employee works, plus the rate of inflation, and the law also imposes an overall cap on pensionable income. The COLA skips some years on a sliding scale based on a worker’s age when the bill was
passed, and raises the retirement age for younger employees for a maximum of five years – employees hired before 2011 can retire with full benefits at age 60 under current law. Recent court rulings have cast serious doubts among lawmakers and Springfield watchers that the Supreme Court will uphold the law. That will translate into immediate budget problems, adding another $1 billion hit to the state budget, on top of another $2 billion for the current fiscal year when much of the unpopular 2011 income tax increase expired Jan. 1. So how did we get here, and what can lawmakers do if the pension reform bill is tossed?
See PENSION, page A7
AP file photo
Police officers, teachers, caregivers and other rank-and-file public servants join Illinois AFL-CIO members Oct. 26, 2011, at the Illinois State Capitol to protest the state’s pension situation and Gov. Pat Quinn’s opposition to arbitrators ruling on AFSCME pay raises and closing facilities.
More snow, bitter cold predicted this week
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com
tomers interested with year-round classes and personal training. “Five percent succeed on their own, but 95 percent succeed with an assistant or personal trainer,” said Weitzman said. “Anyone who wants serious change goes to the professional.” Besides January, Anytime Fitness’ business – and New Year’s resolutions to get in shape – also gets a boost in March because of the looming bikini season,and October when cold weather starts to hit, Weitzman said. Curves, at 1626 DeKalb Ave. in Sycamore, offers 30-minute circuit training for women.
This weekend’s snowfall was but a prelude to a symphony of strong winds, bitterly cold temperatures and more snow, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist. Northern Illinois, including DeKalb County, is under a wind chill advisory until noon today, with overnight temperatures hovering around negative 5 and the wind chill expected to hit 25 below zero, National Weather Service meteorologist Jamie Enderlen said. DeKalb County plows expect to be out today to remove drifting snow and then could be out as early as 3 a.m. Wednesday to remove the three to seven inches that a snowstorm could dump on DeKalb County overnight. DeKalb County Engineer Nathan Schwartz encourages motorists to use their best winter driving skills. “It’s not the first storm event of the year, but it has been awhile since we’ve had a storm, so I hope everyone is leaving a little earlier and going a little slower in case they hit any ice spots,” Schwartz said. Schwartz’s goal is to have plows complete each of the county’s 12 plow routes by the time morning commuters hit the road Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, Enderlen is concerned about the sub-zero temperatures expected Tuesday night through Thursday night. Winds will gust 20 to 30 miles Tuesday and Wednesday, diminishing overnight Wednesday, but the temperatures will be cold enough that bare skin could suffer frostbite after 10 minutes of building outside. Enderlen encourages residents to dress in layers, limit their time outside and consider alternatives for pets. “It looks like the weekend will get a little warmer – maybe 20 [degrees],” Enderlen said. The rain and snow that fell across the area Saturday and Sunday contributed to at least seven crashes. A 25-year-old Plano woman was taken to Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb after her Ford
See RESOLUTION, page A7
See WEATHER, page A7
Photos by Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Dan Allen of DeKalb does pull-ups during a training session Friday with Adam Lehman at Anytime Fitness in DeKalb.
Health businesses in DeKalb County work to maintain resolution boon Voice your opinion
By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com Denise Waters had another name for her New Year’s resolution, since New Year’s Eve is also her birthday: “Old-age resolution.” Waters, a 46-year-old from DeKalb, recently had her lymph nodes removed as part of cancer treatment. As a birthday gift to herself, she stopped by Anytime Fitness, 901 S. Annie Glidden Road in DeKalb, to sign up for a membership and personal trainer. “It’ll help spend time with my grandchildren – the whole family, actually,” Waters said. The new year is in full swing, and Waters is one of many heading to fitness centers and produce aisles looking to make healthy changes in their lives. While New Year’s resolutions are a shot in the arm for health-related businesses, such as fitness centers and health-food markets, businesses themselves have a resolution to re-
Have you kept your New Year’s resolutions so far? Vote online at DailyChronicle.com.
Duck Soup co-managers Miki Hall (left) and Sue Kinsey add to their display of healthy food options for the new year at the DeKalb co-op on Wednesday. tain that interest throughout the year by keeping clients interested in their goals. It takes a couple of days for New
Year’s hangovers to subside before business kicks up at Anytime Fitness, coach Joey Weitzman said. But when it does, the gym helps keep cus-
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Reflection time
Falling at UC
Huskies win
Grand Victorian residents celebrate the new year at brunch Sunday / A3
Kaneland boys hoops no match for St. Charles North at United Center / B2
NIU women’s hoops edges Eastern Michigan in OT / B1
Advice ................................ B3 Classified........................B7-8 Comics ............................... B6 Local News.................... A2-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World........ A2, A6-7
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A9 Puzzles ............................... B3 Sports......................B1-2, 4-5 State ...............................A3-4 Weather ........................... A10