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De ce m be r 9, 2014 • $1 . 0 0
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Protesters attend council meeting By KATIE DAHLSTROM and JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com and jduchnowski@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Adewale Adetunji is done being silent about racism he’s seen in DeKalb. Adetunji was one of more than 40 Northern Illinois University students who attended Monday’s DeKalb City Council meeting to explain demonstrations this weekend, including Saturday when two people were struck by a vehicle as protesters crossed Lincoln Highway. “We’re concerned DeKalb citizens,” said Adetunji, a 22-year-old senior studying political science. “We are trying
to end the ongoing racial bias we’ve seen. We are trying to find a solution to these problems.” Adetunji pointed out anyone attending the meeting had to pass through metal detectors staffed by three officers, who stamped people’s hands on the first floor. Two officers then checked for stamps outside council chambers. A metal detector is typical for court held at city hall Monday mornings, but city council meetings usually entail one officer with a metal detector wand. “We knew we were going to have a full house,” Police Chief Gene Lowery said. “We thought it would be easier to have the magnetometer in-
stead of an officer wanding everyone.” The effort to flood city hall came after a series of three marches from NIU’s campus to the DeKalb Police Department and back that started with 18 participants on Friday evening and grew to about 100 participants by Sunday, organizer Antonio Ticer said. Signs they carried included the slogans: “Black lives matter,” “There is no justice” and “Please don’t hurt me, I need you to protect me.” Throughout the three demonstrations, some passersby shouted racial slurs at the protesters, Ticer said. One person, Erwin Wittke, 55, of Waterman was arrested after
an incident about 6:30 p.m. Saturday near the police station at 700 W. Lincoln Highway. Wittke, of the 5000 block of Graham Road in Waterman, was stopped at a red light at Carroll Avenue and Lincoln, and several protesters were blocking his vehicle when the light turned green, DeKalb Police Cmdr. John Petragallo said. Wittke inched forward into the crowd and ultimately hit a pregnant woman, Petragallo said. About 10 to 15 angry protesters rushed Wittke’s vehiKatie Dahlstrom – kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com cle as he turned into the police department parking lot, but Adewale Adetunji, 22, was among more than 40 Northern Illinois Uni-
See PROTESTS, page A5
versity students who attended the DeKalb City Council meeting Monday. Adetunji was the only one to address the council, calling for a solution to racial bias he has seen in DeKalb.
Afghanistan still in war as U.S. closes command
CLOSING TIME
By LYNNE O’DONNELL The Associated Press
Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
The DeKalb Barnes & Noble bookstore plans to close by Dec. 31, when its lease expires. Barnes & Noble has rented the building from Mid-America Management for more than a decade, but the bookstore’s representatives have rejected lease offers to reduce the store’s rent. William Staebler, director of real estate development for Mid-America Management, said he still is willing to negotiate over the terms of the lease.
Barnes & Noble has begun ‘store-closing process’; retailer to close Dec. 31 By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – When dozens of residents called William Staebler in the past week to complain about Barnes & Noble closing, he told them there was nothing he could do. Staebler is the director of real estate development for Mid-America Management, the company that owns the building Barnes & Noble has rented for more than a decade. The national book retailer will close Dec. 31 because Barnes & Noble made an offer on a new lease and refused to negotiate with Mid-America, Staebler said. Staebler said Barnes & Noble representatives have rejected lease offers his company made during the past year that would have reduced the store’s rent for the 21,000 square-foot space at 2439 Sycamore Road. “People ask me why I’m evicting Barnes & Noble,” Staebler said. “But I’m not closing the store. I’m not laying people off their jobs. It’s[Barnes & Noble’s] decision.” Staebler said he still is willing to negoti-
ate with Barnes & Noble over lease terms. Barnes & Noble officials, however, appear to have no interest in negotiation. “We have commenced the store-closing process, and the inventory at this location will be marked down to facilitate the yearend closing,” David Deason, vice president of development for Barnes & Noble, said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to continuing to serve our valued customers at our many other Chicago metro area locations.” Deason said the company had several conversations with Mid-America, but they couldn’t come to an agreement. Some 28 people work at the DeKalb store, Deason said, and they will be offered opportunities to interview at other locations. The nearest locations to DeKalb are Geneva and Rockford. Barnes & Noble opened the DeKalb store in the Oakland Center in 2002. Staebler said he is actively searching for a new retailer, but he couldn’t disclose any potential tenants.
Staebler said he would rather keep Barnes & Noble than undergo the costly process of securing a new tenant. It took nearly two years for Mid-America to find new tenants after Old Navy closed its location in the same shopping center in 2012, Staebler said. Designer Shoe Warehouse and Five Below divided the building and opened in April. Ellen Divita, community development director for the city of DeKalb, said she spoke with both par`ties a few times, suggesting they enter into a short-term lease. With negotiations at a stalemate, Divita, like Staebler, is looking for another bookseller. “We think this community desires a full-service bookstore,” Divita said. She said a private book retailer approached her about opening in DeKalb, but she hasn’t seen any formal plans. She is also open to suggestions from residents about other types of businesses they travel out of DeKalb to visit.
KABUL, Afghanistan – American and NATO troops closed their operational command in Afghanistan on Monday, lowering flags in a ceremony to mark the formal end of their combat mission in a country still mired in war 13 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime for harboring those responsible for 9/11. The closing of the command, which oversaw the day-to-day operations of coalition combat forces, is one of the final steps in a transition to a support and training role that begins Jan. 1. But with President Barack Obama’s recent move authorizing U.S. forces in Afghanistan to carry out military operations against Taliban and al-Qaida targets, America’s longest war will in fact continue for at least another two years. Obama’s decision to give American forces a more active role than previously envisioned suggests the U.S. still is concerned about the Afghan government’s ability to fight. And agreements signed by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to allow U.S. and NATO troops to remain in the country are seen as a red line by the Taliban, further narrowing any hope of peace talks. Not only are the Taliban a resilient insurgency, a new generation of extremists inspired by Osama bin Laden threatens the entire region. American forces are now also involved in a burgeoning military campaign against Islamic State group militants in Syria and Iraq, where Obama had hoped to end combat operations three years ago. As NATO’s International Security Assistance Force’s Joint Command lowered its flag in the capital, the Taliban carried out yet another bloody attack, this time killing a police officer and four civilians at a police station in southern Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that the group would continue to fight “until all foreign troops have left Afghanistan.” “The Americans want to extend their mission in Afghanistan, the motive being to keep the war going for as long as possible,” Mujahid said. “And for as long as they do, the Taliban will continue their fight against the foreign and [Afghan] government forces.” From Jan. 1, the coalition will maintain a force of 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, down from a peak of about 140,000 in 2011. As of Dec. 1, there were some 13,300 NATO troops in the country. Up to 10,800 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan for the first three months of next year, 1,000 more than previously planned, said a NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss troop deployments. By the end of 2015, however, American officials say the U.S. troop total will shrink to 5,500, and to near zero by the end of 2016. Obama’s recent decision broadened what had
See AFGHANISTAN, page A5
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WHERE IT’S AT
New owner
Money matters
Hero at home
Developer plans to buy, renovate University Village / A3
DeKalb County Board to discuss tax referendum to fund jail expansion / A3
Samuel Churchill fought in Civil War 150 years ago / A2
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