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Transportation options considered Authorities seek to make improvements with development of 3-phase transit study, plan By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Transit authorities are looking for ways to make public transportation more accessible and convenient for riders in DeKalb County. The Voluntary Action Center, Northern Illinois University and its student association, and DeKalb-Sycamore Area
Transportation Study (DSATS) officials are putting together a request-for-proposal to develop a transit study and ultimate transit plan. The estimated cost of the three-phase study is about $102,131. “Right now we are in the preparation phrase,” said Brian Dickson, transportation planner for the city of DeKalb. “We’re looking at ways that
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The phases include taking a regional survey of public input How often do you use local public and data, looking at existing VAC and NIU bus routes, and transportation? Vote online at eventually developing a coorDaily-Chronicle.com. dination and implementation plan. Shorter bus routes would help make rides less of a hassle, both the Huskie line and VAC officials said. could better coordinate and NIU’s Huskie Line has 17 improve transit for the entire routes, including the Friday region.” and Sunday shuttle to the El-
burn Metra Station and the Barsema Express, which is designed to provide on-campus transport from Barsema Hall to the student residence halls. VAC operates three main bus routes that travel through DeKalb and Sycamore and make stops at various health service buildings, apartment complexes, shopping centers and libraries in the county.
DSATS anticipates using $65,000 from the annual Federal Transit Administration allocation toward the project, but officials must go through an approval process to do so. The last time the organization completed a transit study was in 2010, Dickson said. “The study looked at some
See TRANSPORTATION, page A7
Mistrust of police has frayed relations
WELCOME ESSENTIALS PANTRY HELPS LOCAL RESIDENTS IN NEED
Black community, officials in Chicago have clashed before By TAMMY WEBBER and DON BABWIN The Associated Press
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Office manager Beth Schewe on Tuesday thumbs through worksheets given out to those in need who have returned to the Welcome Essentials Pantry, located inside the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of DeKalb, to let organizers know which products are desired. Products will be separated into bags and given out Dec. 19.
DeKalb church distributes essential nonfood items By RHONDA GILLESPIE rgillespie@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Faith leaders throughout DeKalb County note residents’ generosity for giving food and toys this time of year, but they point out some people need other essentials. Once a month, the Unitarian Universalist On the Web Fellowship of DeKalb To see c h u r c h a video opens a difinterview f e r e n t s e t with office o f p a n t r y manager doors. Its WelBeth Schewe and to hear more about the Welcome come Essentials PanEssentials Pantry, visit try allows Daily-Chronicle.com. community members in need to pick up household and personal care items. They include necessities that are vital to hygiene and domestic care, such as deodorant, laundry detergent, diapers, body soap and razors. The effort is part of the church’s social justice ministry.
How to donate Three churches are collecting donations for Welcome Essentials Pantry. Drop off items such as male and female toiletries, grooming and hygiene items; diapers; paper goods; soap; shampoo; sponges; laundry detergent; trash bags; light bulbs; wet wipes; dish soap; etc. Items should be full-sized and in original packaging. Drop the donation at any of the following locations: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of DeKalb, 158 N. 4th St., DeKalb • 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday • 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday • 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday
Tucked inside a small closet at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church in DeKalb, the Welcome Essentials Pantry is run by organizers who hope to receive more donations of personal care toiletries and cleaning supplies. The pantry was created to fill the gap in products the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program doesn’t cover and other food pantries can’t always supply. “In order to have an inclusive cial backgrounds, those things should community and a community that be set aside to make sure that every works together, I think we should community member is fed and well all come together. Whether we come from different faiths or different raSee DONATIONS, page A7
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 830 N. Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb • 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday • 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday • 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday First Congregational Church, 615 N. First St., DeKalb • 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday • 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
CHICAGO – A South Side police commander and his officers tortured black suspects into confessing to crimes they didn’t commit. Another rogue unit shook down drug dealers on the West Side for drugs and money. A different group of officers accepted payments from drug dealers to warn them of police raids. And for years, whenever Chicago officers did something wrong, their colleagues covered for them. The city’s longstanding reputation for police misconduct and brutality shattered relations with the black community long before the federal government announced this week that it was launching a wide-ranging civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department. The probe was prompted by a video showing a white officer shooting a black teen 16 times and revelations that other officers filed false reports about what happened. “There is a deep mistrust, and it really becomes a cancer here in Chicago because it eats away at respect for authority and respect for the law ... that becomes toxic,” said the Rev. Marshall Hatch of New Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. He said some communities feel like they’re being occupied by police rather than protected by them. Craig Futterman is an attorney who helped win the release of video showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. He said the footage underscored two things: A pervasive code of silence at all levels of the department has allowed misconduct and brutality to fester, and previous reform efforts have done little to solve the problem. “Political leaders never had the political courage to address underlying issues that allow a minority of police officers to abuse the most vulnerable among us, disproportionately black folk, with impunity,” said Futterman, a professor at the University of Chicago, which
See CHICAGO, page A7
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DeKalb junior Austin Freeman earns Golfer of the Year title / B1
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