THURSDAY
O c t o be r 9, 2014 • $1 .0 0
OF LOVE AND LOSS Stage Coach play opens up today / C1 HIGH
LOW
58 38 Complete forecast on page A8
daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
Facebook.com/dailychronicle
@dailychronicle
Tax givebacks get more support Board committee OKs business incentives for possible enterprise zone By JESSI HAISH jhaish@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – A planned DeKalb County enterprise zone would offer generous property tax incentives to businesses that open up shop there. Members of the DeKalb County Board’s Economic Development Committee approved a unified incentive policy Tuesday to address the needs of local governments and businesses that could be located in a possible enterprise zone, which coun-
ty leaders are working to create in DeKalb County. The county approval of a tax abatement plan, which would supersede those already in place in individual cities, is a preliminary step in preparing for a possible zone in the county, subject to approval by the state Enterprise Zone Board. The abatement plan calls for six years of tax givebacks for businesses in the enterprise zone, with an additional five-year incentive for those within 3½ miles of Interstate 88. The plan would provide property
tax abatements from all governments except schools starting at 90 percent of all property taxes for businesses in the zone, falling by 10 percent each year until it reaches 50 percent, then ending, records show. School district property taxes would also be lifted, but the abatement would not begin until the second year of the plan and last through a sixth year. County administrator Gary Hanson called the abatements aggressive, and said the proposed boundaries of the enterprise zone could be released
this week. “We’re in competition with a lot of different people and businesses near the interstate,” Hanson said. “The program would hopefully attract larger businesses along the interstate.” County leaders are in the process of explaining the enterprise zone application to many of the county’s taxing bodies, as the county is applying for a designation which would offer businesses tax breaks to move or expand within its boundaries. County Board Chairman Jeff
Metzger said the application is an opportunity for more economic development in the county and standardized tax abatements across the board would benefit the county. “There’s less confusion when a business comes in when everyone is talking the same language,” Metzger said. “It can get really confusing when someone is looking at different plans of abatement from one town to another in the county.”
See ENTERPRISE, page A2
Official says Ill. prepared for Ebola
MAPLE PARK, WATERMAN HOME TO WINE GROWERS
By CARLA K. JOHNSON The Associated Press
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Martin Barrera harvests Frontenac grapes off the vine Tuesday in Acquaviva Winery’s Maple Park vineyard. The grapes used for Acquaviva’s white wines were harvested last month, and its Frontenac harvest is currently yielding four to five tons per acre.
Wineries harvesting local flavor Weather hasn’t been perfect, but local production gets underway On the Web
By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com MAPLE PARK – Winemaker Sergio Benavides uses tricks he learned while studying wine in Chile to compensate for how the weather has affected some grapes this year. Benavides helps produce wine for Acquaviva Winery, 47W614 Illinois 38, Maple Park. Last year, they produced close to 13,000 gallons of wine. In 2012, they produced about 12,000 gallons. This year, winery officials expect to produce between 11,000 and 12,000 gallons. Acquaviva is harvesting grapes such as Frontenac, used to produce red wine, this week. They harvested grapes that produce white wine such as St. Pepin and Brianna in early September. “Sometimes you have to do more,” Benavides said. “With this weather, raining every week, the plant never stops growing.” When a grapevine grows, Benavides said that slows down how quickly the grapes on it ripen. Local wineries say they are
For information about Acquaviva Winery, visit www.acquavivawinery. com. For information about Waterman Winery and Vineyards, visit www. watermanwinery.com.
Voice your opinion Do you drink local wines? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Winemaker Sergio Benavides of Acquaviva Winery in Maple Park examines a bunch from the 8,000 pounds of grapes that line the tank room while workers prepare to crush and de-stem the yield. lucky they did not experience as much cold and wet weather this past year as other northern regions of the country. Still, Acquaviva Winery lost between 10 and 15 percent of its vines due to the winter, which operators said is not a significant loss. Waterman Winery and Vineyards, 11582 Waterman Road, Waterman, did not lose any grapes to frost, but did
delay its harvest because grapes took longer to ripen. The weather was not as hot this year, so workers at Waterman Winery and Vineyards had to pick their grapes about 10 days later than they normally would in August, said co-owner Alexa Tuntland. Waterman Winery has a 12acre vineyard with 40 different varieties of French-American hy-
brid grapes such as Frontenac, Leon Millot and Marshal Foch, Tuntland said. Tuntland manages a seasonal crew of people who pick grapes according to the amount of sugar in the grape, she said. Tuntland drives a vehicle similar to a golf cart to load grapes and put them in a pressure stemmer, which crushes and destems grapes. Grapes such as Niagara that are used for white wine go straight into a press, Tuntland said.
LOCAL NEWS
SPORTS
SPORTS
Just a start
Slight adjustment Moving on
Volunteers get to work Saturday at the Amenti Haunted House / A3
Young NIU cornerbacks learning the speed of the game / B1
Local girls golfers move onto the sectional round / B1
See WINERIES, page A2
CHICAGO – Illinois’ top doctor said Wednesday the state is ready to test for Ebola, but he called a proposal from two Chicago aldermen to screen all international passengers arriving at two city airports “overkill.” Illinois Department of Public Health Director LaMar Hasbrouck promised to keep the public informed of any suspected cases during a news conference held on the same day Dallas health officials announced the first patient diagnosed in the United States had died. Ebola has killed about 3,800 people in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization. “Until the outbreak is controlled in West Africa, there will continue to be some amount of risk here in the United States, including here in the state of Illinois,” Hasbrouck said. So far, no Illinois patients have been tested for Ebola, he said. The man who died in Dallas, Thomas Eric Duncan, flew from Liberia to Dallas days before he started having symptoms. The White House announced Wednesday that extra screening will soon begin for travelers from Ebola hotspot countries in West Africa who arrive at five international airports, including O’Hare. Those passengers – about 150 a day at the five airports – will get their temperatures taken and will be asked additional screening questions. Hasbrouck said those plans are appropriate, calling a proposal from two Chicago aldermen to set up screening facilities at O’Hare and Midway airports for all international passengers unnecessary. “It would be a waste of resources in some ways,” he said. “I think that it is overkill.” Hasbrouck said some airport travelers will “get through the screen” and may even lie about their exposure to the disease. “You ask them the question and some people lie,” he said. If an exposed person later gets sick and seeks help at an Illinois hospital or a clinic, Hasbrouck said, doctors and nurses are ready to ask more questions about exposure and travel history, and, if necessary, to isolate patients. “That’s when the dots will be connected and that’s when they may go to a suspected status and we may do testing,” Hasbrouck said.
WHERE IT’S AT Advice ................................ C4 Classified....................... C6-8 Comics ............................... C5 Local News.................... A2-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World............A2, A5
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A7 Puzzles ............................... C4 Sports..............................B1-4 State ...................................A5 Weather .............................A8