ONWARD TO DETROIT
November 29, 2014 • $1.50
With their win over Western Michigan, Huskies return to MAC title game / B1 daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
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46 36 Complete forecast on page A10
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County’s jobless numbers tick up
SYCAMORE MAYOR: DISAPPEARANCE OF MARIA RIDULPH ‘CHANGED US AS A COMMUNITY’
Sunshine amid horror
Cuts in government hiring, workforce growth contribute By ERIC R. OLSON eolson@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The local unemployment rate in DeKalb County and the city of DeKalb grew slightly in October, mirroring a statewide trend. Countywide, the unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percent in October, reaching 5.2 percent, from 5.1 percent in September, according to seasonally adjusted data released this week by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The number of employed people in DeKalb County actually increased by almost 600 for the month to 56,105. However, the local workforce increased by about 700, accounting for the increase in the rate. DeKalb County’s unemployment rate of 5.2 percent puts it 10th lowest among the state’s 102 counties. Many counties with the highest unemployment rates are in southern and central Illinois, although Winnebago County, which includes the city of Rockford, came in at sixth-highest
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Charles Ridulph, 68, sits recently in his Sycamore home blocks away from Center Cross Street and Archie Place where his 7-year-old sister Maria Ridulph was kidnapped almost 57 years ago. Jack D. McCullough, found guilty in her kidnapping and murder in 2012, is currently serving a life sentence in Pontiac Correctional Center, and his appeal will begin Wednesday, the 57th anniversary of the kidnapping.
5 decades after tragedy, Sycamore community still supports Ridulph family their homes and cars unlocked to a place suddenly overrun by police officers searchaazzo@shawmedia.com ing for clues in his sister’s disappearance, SYCAMORE – Days after his 7-year-old Charles Ridulph said. sister disappeared Dec. 3, 1957, Charles Rid“It was an immediate change,” Ridulph, ulph remembers police officers talking to 68, said. schoolchildren about “stranger danger.” It wasn’t until 2011 when authorities The kidnapping and murder of Maria arrested Jack D. McCullough, who was Ridulph changed Sycamore prematurely from a town where people would leave See SYCAMORE, page A6
By ANDREA AZZO
Maria Ridulph
What’s next
See JOBLESS, page A6 Jack D. McCullough is appealing his conviction in the 1957 kidnapping and murder of Maria Ridulph on Wednesday at the Second District Appellate Court in Elgin. Jack D. A three-judge panel McCullough will hear 15-minute arguments by each attorney. Two of the three judges must agree on the decision.
Local unemployment data Oct. DeKalb (city) 5.7 DeKalb County 5.2
Sept. 5.3 5.1
Oct. ’13 7.7 7.3
all numbers are percentages
Source: Illinois Department of Employment Security
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Spread of video gambling in Illinois raising cash, eyebrows By DAVID MERCER and JIM SUHR The Associated Press CHAMPAIGN – Since video gambling began in Illinois two years ago, the slot-like terminals have been showing up in places lawmakers never imagined – floral shops, laundromats, liquor stores and gas stations. They’re also now the main attraction at dozens of storefront bistros and cafes geared toward women. Video gambling has become big business for the state, but it’s also
raised some second thoughts in the process. Since the first terminal was turned on in 2012, it has generated $210.8 million in tax revenue for the cashstrapped state government and $42.2 million for local governments on more than $3 billion in wagered cash, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. The terminals also have meant significant money for businesses, such as the Arabian Knights Farms and Training Center, an equestrian center in Willowbrook, southwest of Chicago. The horse barn makes most of its
money on weddings and parties for income, some of which can be seasonal, owner Michael Vena said. “There’s no money in horses. ... In the middle of winter, this will help,” Vena said, talking about the three gambling terminals tucked into a red-carpeted, plywood-walled room in his barn. They bring him $1,750 a month in profit. One of the sponsors of the video gambling bill when it was approved in Springfield in 2009 said the spread
See GAMBLING, page A6
AP photo
Michael Vena, owner of Arabian Knights Farms and Training Center, walks with his dog, Valor, on Nov. 10 in Willowbrook. Since Illinois legalized video gambling, the terminals have been showing up in some unusual places: a florist, laundromats, liquor stores and gas stations. And for the businesses that have terminals, such as the Arabian Knights Farms and Training Center, they mean money, too, according to Vena.
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Holiday decor
Donations sought Boys hoops
This season, add fun, festive touches to your living spaces / C1
Items to benefit firefighter whose home burned down in Thanksgiving fire / A4
Sycamore comeback falls short against Hampshire / B1
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