NIU FAVORED October 25, 2014 • $1.50
Huskies 20½-point favorite against lowly Eastern Michigan / B1 daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
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Group frustrated by lack of discussion
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SAYS FAREWELL TO REGULAR SEASON
FOCUS DeKalb to host review of city’s proposed inspection rules By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com Monica Synett – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – Members of the newly formed FOCUS DeKalb plan to hold their own public hearings on a proposed commercial and industrial building ordinance proposed in the city. Disappointed by what they say is a lack of public discussion on the city of DeKalb’s proposed inspection rules, members of a newly formed group decided to act. The group, which includes members of the DeKalb business community, said it is frustrated by what it says is a lack of public discussion on the inspection plan. In addition to hearings, they have also created their own ordinance, co-founder Will Heinisch said. “We decided to hold a public hearing because the city has not,” Heinisch said. “A number of stakeholders decided to show the city the process of what they should be doing.” The City Council first discussed the ordinance, which would require all commercial and industrial buildings undergo annual code inspections by a city contractor, during a Committee of the Whole meeting Aug. 11. At the time, city staff cited numerous building-related issues, including the collapse of the Wurlitzer building, unsafe and unsanitary conditions found at the Travel Inn in DeKalb, and the downtown building that had housed Otto’s and Ducky’s that was found unfit for occupancy after a water
DeKalb fans boo a controversial call in the fourth quarter Friday against Geneseo. DeKalb lost, 21-7. View more photos online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
PLAYOFFS ON TAP Sycamore football did what it needed to do Friday night to ensure a meaningful Saturday. The Spartans beat Sterling, 21-18, becoming playoff eligible at 5-4. They and the area’s other playoff team, DeKalb, will be intently watching the playoff selection show at 8 tonight on CSN Chicago. Pairings will be announced for each of the state’s 254 playoff teams, DeKalb and Sycamore included. The Barbs will have a high seed after an 8-1 season and play at home. Sycamore – technically on the bubble with only five wins but with likely enough playoff points to qualify – will likely be on the road. “That’s one thing the team has to realize is that fortunately we have another week to play,” DeKalb coach Matt Weckler said after his team’s 21-7 loss to Geneseo. “We got a selection show get-together [tonight.] We’ll all get back together and put this behind us.” While opponents will be announced, game days and times will not be announced until 3 p.m. Monday. Games will be played Friday or Saturday. If DeKalb ends up playing Saturday, the game wouldn’t start until 4 p.m. because of a sectional championship soccer game being played at its field at noon. Genoa-Kingston and Hiawatha had chances to become playoff eligible Friday, but lost their respective games.
– Eddie Carifio
Ryan Gaines for Shaw Media
Sycamore junior Nicholas Niemann (left) prepares to tackle Sterling’s Turner Morse after a first quarter reception Friday in Sycamore.
FRIDAY NIGHT’S SCORES Genoa-Kingston.......................15 Richmond-Burton....................35
Kaneland..................................33 Rochelle.....................................6
Sterling.....................................18 Sycamore.................................21
Hiawatha..................................14 Chicago Hope Academy.........68
Geneseo...................................21 DeKalb........................................7
More in the Sports section and at Daily-Chronicle.com.
If you go n WHAT: FOCUS DeKalb public
hearing
n WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday n WHERE: Red Roof Inn, 1212 W.
Lincoln Highway, DeKalb pipe burst there last winter. At the Sept. 8 council meeting, members of the business community condemned the ordinance as over-reaching and questioned why it was developed without outside input. The outcry prompted aldermen to delay action on the plan until November. City Manager Anne Marie Gaura said that while the city has been asked to hold public hearings regarding the ordinance, ongoing discussions with affected groups could dramatically change the plan from what was first proposed. “Our goal is not to get people concerned over a process that is rapidly changing,” Gaura said. The structure, scope and cost of the inspections outlined in the proposed ordinance likely won’t come back to the council until late November or early December, Gaura said. In the meantime, she said the ordinance will be scaled back, and proposed annual inspections would mirror fire/life safety inspections firefighters currently perform. Heinisch, who met with city staff last week as a member of the DeKalb Area Rental Association, isn’t convinced
See FOCUS DEKALB, page A12
When JFK came to DeKalb 55 years ago By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Before John. F. Kennedy told Americans to ask what they could do for their country, he came to DeKalb with a simple message: America is going soft. Kennedy delivered this message to nearly 1,600 people at the Elks Club and Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb 55 years ago, on Oct. 25, 1959, as he campaigned for the Democratic nomination for president. “As a nation, for perhaps a generation or more, we faced a hard, tough course,” Kennedy said. “But also as a nation, the hard facts of the matter are we’re in danger of going physically, mentally, morally and
More online To hear the 23-minute recording of John F. Kennedy’s speech at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.
Voice your opinion Which is your favorite quote from John F. Kennedy? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com. spiritually soft. We are in danger of losing our will to fight, to sacrifice and to endure. We are in danger of forgetting our traditions.” Kennedy, at the time a 42-year-old senator from Massachusetts, spoke to 300 area Democratic committeemen at the Elks Club. A capacity crowd paid $5 a plate – about
$40 now – to attend the luncheon, according to news reports from the time. Kennedy’s stop in DeKalb was part of a three-day tour of the state and Kennedy’s ultimately successful mission to secure the Democratic nomination for president in the 1960 election. Kennedy would easily win Illinois’ primary
in April 1960 before securing the Democratic nomination in July. Illinois would prove pivotal in Kennedy’s winning the presidency in November, when Kennedy would win the state’s 27 electoral votes by out-polling Republican Richard Nixon by fewer than 9,000 votes out of more than 4.7 million cast. With the win, Kennedy became the youngest man to be elected president and the only Catholic. DeKalb County, however, went for Nixon. Although it was widely attended at the time, local Democrats and historians have very few – if any – tales of the
See JFK, page A12
Daily Chronicle file photo
John F. Kennedy was photographed Oct. 25, 1959, during his visit to DeKalb, where he was a guest at an Elks Club luncheon and addressed a crowd at the Egyptian Theatre. Kennedy was photographed here with a man identified as Kendall County’s representative at center, and Karl De Barr, a DeKalb County leader (right).
LOCAL NEWS
LIFESTYLE
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Runaround
Starting earlier
Numbers down
Genoa resident trying to get wheelchair since January / A3
Blending of holiday traditions kicks off with Halloween / C1
Unemployment rate falls again in county, state / A3
Advice ................................ C4 Classified...................... C7-12 Comics ............................... C5 Local News.................... A3-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World..A2, 5-7, 9-12
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion.............................A13 Puzzles ............................... C4 Sports..............................B1-3 State ...................................A4 Weather ........................... A14