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Rauner addresses DCEDC dinner Gov. talks business, state budget at fundraiser By RHONDA GILLESPIE rgillespie@shawmedia.com
Photos by Mary Beth Nolan – mnolan@shawmedia.com
Gov. Bruce Rauner signs an autograph for Karen Hoyle administrator of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp. before his speech at the organization’s annual dinner Thursday at the Holmes Student Center on the Northern Illinois University campus.
Rally ahead of visit calls for restored funding By RHONDA GILLESPIE rgillespie@shawmedia.com DeKALB –The state needs to get its fiscal act together because college students, domestic violence victims and low-income working families are among those hurt by the state not having a budget, participants at a rally held at Northern Illinois University said Thursday. NIU’s student senate hosted the demonstration in the MLK Commons outside the Holmes Student Center where Gov. Bruce Rauner would later speak at an economic development event. Students from Elmhurst College, Governors State University, Chicago State University, College of DuPage and other regional higher education institutions, along with workers and clients from DeKalb area social service agencies were among the attendees. Dillan Domke, speaker of the NIU Student Senate, said the demonstration was nonpartisan and more about urging lawmakers and the governor to come up with a state budget – especially one that includes funding the state’s child care subsidy program for low wage-earning families and the Monetary Award Program that helps low income students pay for college. “I’m one of 731 who will not be able to engage themselves fully on our campus without MAP grant
Northern Illinois University law student, Jason Montemayor (from left) and College of Engineering employees Mia Hannon and Cheryl Lubber participate in rally against the state budget impasse Thursday outside the Holmes Student Center on NIU’s campus. Visit Daily-Chronicle.com for a photo list. funding,” said Grace Bellion, president of the Student Government Association at Elmhurst College. “We are the future, and we need the state to keep investing in our futures so we can be empowered to become the next generation of leaders. “Politicians are forcing domestic violence victims back to their
abusers,” read the sign that Lynnea Erickson held at the rally. She is an abuse intervention services coordinator at DeKalb County-based Safe Passage, a nonprofit agency that assists victims of domestic violence. Although the rally didn’t take a political side, Erickson said the governor, ultimately, is responsible for
the the state’s budget impasse. She blames the state not having a budget for social agencies losing funding, cutting services and, in come cases, closing. “The governor is holding social services hostage to negotiate the deal he wants for business,” she said.
DeKalb looks to fill intern positions By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The city is looking to fill two paid internship positions in the engineering and fire departments. The city has budgeted $15,000 for the fire department intern and $8,400 for the engineering intern. The intern positions, along with the position of human resources director, were put on
the OK on the internships in the meantime. The state budget impasse remains a con• The city will fill two paid interncern, and the city will reconship positions. sider the human resources • In January, the City Council will director position in January, again consider filling the position said Cathy Haley, the city’s of Human Resource Director. finance director. “Anything long term is pure speculation and makes hold throughout the budget it difficult to plan,” she said. process. Because the internships City officials won’t fill the are short-term in nature, human resources director officials were more comfortposition yet, but have given able with going ahead with
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the hiring. “Interns are a great bang for your buck,” Ward 4 Alderman Bob Snow said. “You get good value for what you pay them.” David Jacobson, 1st Ward Alderman, said he thought hiring interns would be a good compromise. The hiring freeze has been a topic of debate for the City Council for months.
See HIRING, page A7
DeKALB – DeKalb County is aligning itself to be one of the state’s economic drivers, Gov. Bruce Rauner told stakeholders Thursday at a fundraiser event. “DeKalb epitomizes the competitive advantage that Illinois has got going for it,” Rauner said in his keynote address at the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp.’s annual dinner. The governor credited the county’s agricultural and manufacturing base, rail access and proximity to Chicago. “This is one of the best locations in America to build business,” he said. The governor, who opted to wear a sport coat and khaki’s instead of a suit to the business-attire event, chose to pull the microphone from the stationary lectern and make his address with it in hand, near the edge of the dais. Elected offi“It’s your city cials, business owners and advo- government, your cates, representatives from state county. and local agenYou cies and others filled dozens of ta- should bles in the Duke decide Ellington Ballroom, located in how the Holmes Student Center on bidding gets done, the Northern Il- how outsourcing, linois University how contract gets Campus. “ T h e done – also, how DCEDC annual dinner is a fund- collective bargainraising event ing gets done.” conducted to generate revenue to support the marBruce Rauner keting, business Illinois Governor development, workforce development and business climate improvement activities of the organization,” said Paul Borek, executive director of the DCEDC. The governor addressed the crowd, against the backdrop of the state heading into a fifth month without a budget. The current fiscal year started July 1. Democrats passed a spending plan in May, but Rauner vetoed it a month later. “I vetoed the phony budget that got passed, that has a $5 billion hole in it,” he said in his address. Instead, he is pushing for what he calls reforms that would relieve businesses of such things as unfunded mandates and would help give local governments more control over how local businesses are regulated.
See RAUNER, page A7
Medical marijuana sales spur excitement, worry By CARLA K. JOHNSON The Associated Press MUNDELEIN – Patients said they will drive long distances to buy their first legal weed. Neighbors worry about loitering and crime. Police plan extra patrols in towns where dispensaries will sell, for the first time, medical marijuana in Illinois. Public sentiments range
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from cautious to elated as Illinois prepares to join more than a dozen states that allow medical marijuana sales. There is still no official start date in Illinois, but Joseph Wright, director of the state’s pilot program, said Thursday that sales should begin “within the next two weeks.”
See MARIJUANA, page A7
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