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Feb rua r y 5 , 2015 • $1 .0 0
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daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
JUROR PAY DEBATE CONTINUES
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CO LD HIGH
11 6
Complete forecast on page A6
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We will be cutting in the future. Is this a huge impact? No. But $30,000 is something we didn’t budget for.
Pete Stefan
LOW
County Finance Director
@dailychronicle
No interest in medical marijuana County doesn’t draw any applications for dispensary By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Illustration by R. Scott Helmchen – shelmchen@shawmedia.com
THE JURY IS OUT New law sparks debate on juror pay, quantity in Illinois courts By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com A new law effective June 1 will put more money in the pockets of those serving on juries in Illinois courts. But as for how it will benefit DeKalb County and the rest of the state, the jury still is out. Under the new law, SB 3075, which passed in December, jurors will be compensated $25 for their first day of service, and $50 for each additional day, with no additional compensation for mileage. “There’s always been a question of if we’re fairly compensating our jurors for their service,” DeKalb County Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert said. “But this legislation was passed after the County Board passed their budgets. We have not budgeted for the additional increase.” Without this extra money budgeted, some Illinois counties are expecting to fall into a deficit, while others are attempting to modify the new law with amendments. County Finance Director Pete Stefan estimated about $30,000 would be paid in juror fees under the new law. Although DeKalb
County didn’t budget for the juror pay raise, the county did receive $36,000 in additional revenue that will cover the new costs, as well the cost to hire a new corrections officer at the county jail. “After the budget passed, we did receive additional funding from the state,” Stefan said. “We will be cutting in the future. Is this a huge impact? No. But $30,000 is something we didn’t budget for.” The state currently allows a minimum of $5 a day, and DeKalb County awards jurors $12.50 a day plus mileage. The new law also calls for all civil cases to be tried by a jury of six. Currently, cases involving damages under $50,000 may be tried by a jury of either six or 12, and cases involving damages more than $50,000 are tried by a jury of 12. In addition, grand jury members will be paid $50 a day for their service, said Nicole Swiss, Kendall County court administrator and jury commissioner. The bill was signed by former Gov. Pat Quinn, and supporters claim the law will lead
See JURY, page A4
By the numbers SB 3075: • $25 for the first day • $50 each additional day • No travel reimbursement Currently in DeKalb County: • $12.50 per day 2014 court numbers in DeKalb County: • $31,500 in juror fees paid • $20,000 in mileage fees paid • 2,500 people summoned to serve on juries • 20 criminal cases heard by a jury • 3 civil cases heard by a jury • Least amount of time served by a jury in 2014: 1 day • Most amount of time served by a jury in 2014: 11 days 2014 court numbers in Kendall County • $39,317.15 in per diems and mileage for 1,493 petit jurors • $6,481.78 in per diems and mileage for 387 grand jurors
DeKALB – No one wants to sell marijuana in DeKalb County – not legally, anyway. At least that’s what the application records released by the state this week showed. The county was one of only three places in the state of Illinois where no one applied for a license to operate a medical marijuana dispensary. Meanwhile, plans for a marijuana growing center in the police district that includes DeKalb County were put on hold pending further review. Local officials said they had received inquiries from people interested in setting up dispensaries in the county, but none apparently went so far as to apply to the state program. “We’re pretty neutral if it was going to happen,” DeKalb County Administrator Gary Hanson said. “You want the economic development, and these places sounded like they would be large investments.” Gary Hanson The state received more DeKalb than 370 applications for sell- County ing and growing operations, administrator state records show. In all, Gov. Bruce Rauner awarded 52 licenses for marijuana dispensaries and 18 licenses for cultivation centers across the state. Other than DeKalb County, only the district including Ford, Iroquois and Kankakee counties and the district covering the city of Chicago’s South Township did not receive any applicants for dispensaries. Under the program’s rules, one dispensary could have been approved in DeKalb County. Nearby Kane County saw 14 applications, two of which were approved. According to the state, DuPage County had 23 applications, the most of any place in the state. Three of those applications were approved. The medical marijuana law allows for 21 growing centers statewide, one for each state police district. In District 2, which includes DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, an application from Curative Health LLC has been put on hold for further review. Curative Health wants to open a growing center at 2229 Diehl Road in Aurora, according to Aurora City Council meeting minutes. DeKalb County Planning, Zoning and Building Administrator Paul Miller said he received a half-dozen phone calls regarding medical marijuana operations. He said he told the applicants that setting up a cultivation center on DeKalb County land
See MARIJUANA, page A4
Rauner says his agenda will make Illinois more competitive THE ASSOCIATED PRESS with local reports SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner laid out a first-year agenda Wednesday he said will help Illinois better compete with its neighbors, largely by stripping power from labor unions, shrinking the size of government and making the state more attractive to companies looking to create jobs. Rauner, a Winnetka Republican, acknowledged the proposals in his first State of the State address were ambitious, but said they are needed for Illinois to keep up with other states and repair a multibillion-dollar budget hole. “We must avoid slipping further behind other states in the quality of
our children’s education, the capacity of our economy to grow, and our ability to care for our state’s most vulnerable,” Rauner told members of the General Assembly at the state Capitol. “It’s now or never for Illinois. It’s time to act.” Although many present for the joint session of the state House and Senate were skeptical, local lawmakers reacted favorably to Rauner’s speech and expressed hope that the governor and Democrats in control of the legislature could work together to make progress. Among Rauner’s top priorities is a jobs and economic growth package he said must reduce the cost of workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance, and would increase Illinois’ $8.25-per-hour minimum wage to $10
over seven years. That’s a smaller increase and slower phase-in than a proposal approved by a Democratic-controlled Senate committee earlier Wednesday. Rauner also said he wants to freeze property taxes for two years, give local government employees the right to decide whether to join a union and begin looking for ways to eliminate or consolidate some of Illinois’ more than 7,000 units of government. Many of Rauner’s proposals are likely to meet opposition from Democrats who control both chambers of the Illinois Legislature, as well as some Republicans who have strong relationships with labor unions. DeKalb County’s elected officials,
See RAUNER, page A4
LOCAL NEWS
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Area athletes commit to schools during National Signing Day / B1
Sycamore sober house plan finds opposition / A3
AP photo
Gov. Bruce Rauner delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday at the Capitol in Springfield.
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