THURSDAY
O c t o be r 30 , 2 014 • $1 .0 0
CONFERENCE CHANGES? Sycamore’s Carrick has IHSA realignment plan under consideration / B1 HIGH
LOW
51 35 Complete forecast on page A8
daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
Facebook.com/dailychronicle
@dailychronicle
Business owners gather feedback Input given on proposed inspection ordinance at FOCUS DeKalb town hall meeting By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – While the city of DeKalb revises a proposed ordinance for inspecting commercial and industrial businesses, some DeKalb business owners are gathering input on their own ordinance. On Wednesday, more than 50 local property and business owners attended a town hall meeting hosted by
FOCUS DeKalb, an assembly of local business and property owners opposed to sweeping changes proposed by the city of DeKalb. Group members spent close to two hours discussing an ordinance they drafted that would dictate the rules surrounding the city’s inspection process. “What we’re forcing the city to do is follow its own rules,” said Will Heinisch, the co-founder of FOCUS
DeKalb. The group’s ordinance is in response to a city ordinance staff proposed in September that would have required all commercial and industrial businesses to undergo annual inspections at their expense. When the ordinance first was proposed, city staff cited a number of unsafe buildings, including the Wurlitzer building, Travel Inn in DeKalb and the downtown building that had housed
Otto’s and Ducky’s. Local business owners blasted the proposal, prompting aldermen to delay a vote. Business owners echoed many of those critical sentiments during Wednesday’s town hall. “DeKalb is a hindrance,” DeKalb resident and property owner Brian Weydert said. “The city is out to punish local businesses. They’ve got to get out of the way and stop coming up with rules that punish the local
SUGARY SNACKS
By SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press
Photos by Monica Synett – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Ethan Ihm, 7, of DeKalb goes through his candy from a Cortland parade he attended with his siblings a couple weeks ago. Ihm says he eventually eats all of his candy. TOP: The National Retail Federation expects Americans will spend more than $2.2 billion on Halloween candy this year.
Experts offer tips for dental health, donating Halloween candy By KATIE DAHLSTROM DeKALB – The candy cavalcade starts at Patty Ihm’s house well before Halloween. Candy begins to accumulate in her DeKalb home after the Cortland Fall Festival and Parade the second week of October. Her five trick-or-treating age children fill plastic pumpkins with sweets the entire family devours. The candy supply begins to dwindle once Halloween rolls around – at least some of it does. “All the good chocolate, the Hershey’s Kisses, those are gone first,” Ihm said. “The old fashioned candies in the orange and black wrapping, the Smarties, the hard candies, we generally send those to my husband at work.”
With the National Retail Federation predicting Americans will spend more than $2.2 billion on candy this year, dentists and local health officials are offering guidelines for devouring sugary snacks and alternatives. Halloween kicks off a parade of candy and sweets that will last through the holidays, said Dr. Katina Spadoni, the dental director for insurer Delta Dental of Illinois. With the sugar-laden holiday comes some emergencies like hard, sticky candy ripping out teeth or crowns, but in general, it’s as busy as any other time of the year, she said. The Ihms’ method of eating all the chocolate and giving away the rest is a good one, for their teeth, at least, based on Spadoni’s recommendations.
See FEEDBACK, page A6
Senate hopefuls quarrel in last debate
WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
businesses.” Since the Sept. 8 meeting when businesses owners blasted the proposed ordinance, city staff has met with several local business organizations to create an ordinance that addresses the city’s concerns, but with a scope, structure and cost amicable to business owners. The city is exploring different
“If you’re going to eat candy, the chocolate candy is the best because they chew it, it melts, it’s not lingering in the mouth as long,” Spadoni said. As for Dan Ihm’s co-workers, those hard, sticky candies could wreak havoc on their teeth. Spadoni cautioned hard candies that generally are savored rather than chomped turn the mouth into a sugar bath. Sticky candies also have their own dangers. “The worst is sticky candy like Jujubees and gummy bears,” Spadoni said. “It’s just sitting on the teeth, rotting away.” But not everyone will hand out candy this year. Spadoni said in the 30 years she’s been practicing dentistry, there’s been a growing
See CANDY, page A6
What people will hand out this Halloween 73 percent Chocolate
54 percent Sweet candy
36 percent Chewy candy
35 percent Hard candy
21 percent Caramel
Source: Delta Dental Plans Association
CHICAGO – The Illinois candidates for U.S. Senate debated immigration proposals, tea party ties and anti-violence policies Wednesday in Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis’ last chance to challenge U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin before a televised audience ahead of next week’s election. The role of experience in public office came up often during the sometimes feisty, hour-long forum hosted by Chicago’s WTTW-TV. Oberweis, a dairy magnate, has Dick argued that Durbin Durbin has been in Washington too long and is out of touch with constituents, but three-term Durbin has said he’s brought billions in federal funding to Illinois, particularly for Jim transportation infra- Oberweis structure. In recent weeks, Oberweis has called out Durbin for not doing enough on crime and said Wednesday that his solution would be policies that boost the economy. “The most important thing we can do is to get the economy growing again ... so people have jobs,” Oberweis said. “Kids get involved in gangs because they don’t have alternatives. It’s the policies of Sen. Durbin that have created a terrible economic disaster.” Durbin said the state’s economic woes should instead be blamed on the policies of former President George W. Bush and that the issue was more about gun control, namely restrictions on assault weapons. “Jim Oberweis has the most extreme position on gun control of any major candidate in Illinois,” he said, noting his rival’s opposition to background checks. Oberweis, who was elected to the Illinois Senate in 2012, faces an uphill battle. Durbin is the second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate with a national reputation on issues including immigration reform that resonate with voting blocs the Republican Party has vowed to reach. In turn, Durbin has tried to link Oberweis to the tea party movement, noting pictures of tea party activists on Oberweis’ Facebook page. “It’s so amusing to watch him
See DEBATE, page A6
LOCAL
A&E
SPORTS
WHERE IT’S AT
Reaching out
Postal hobby
A Giant win
Resident rallies for Crime Victims’ amendment / A3
5 reasons why stamp collecting is a worthwhile practice for kids / C1
San Francisco holds off Kansas City for World Series title / B1
Advice ................................ C4 Classified....................... C6-8 Comics ............................... C5 Local News.....................A2-3 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World...................A2
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A7 Puzzles ............................... C4 Sports..............................B1-4 State ...................................A4 Weather .............................A8