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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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Voters will head to the polls today By Daily Chronicle news@daily-chronicle.com DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder Doug Johnson is overseeing 42 polling places that serve 90 precincts throughout DeKalb County today. About 57,903 voters are registered in Doug DeKalb Coun- Johnson ty, and the polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., with election judges allowing those in line to vote by 7 p.m. to cast ballots. Here are some questions local voters typically have:
Am I registered? Residents can find out whether they are registered to vote in their precinct through the Integra Election Reporting Console online at http:// shawurl.com/126a. Users can enter their name and birthdate when prompted to find out if they are a registered voter and the polling location. If voters are told their names are not on file at their polling place, they still have the opportunity to vote. Depending on the situation, Johnson said people can
Stay up to date Follow what Daily Chronicle reporters are writing about tonight’s election and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #DDCElect. You can see what people are talking about on our Election Central site, Daily-Chronicle.com/election.
On the web Do you plan to vote today? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com. Photos by Danielle Guerra - dguerra@shawmedia.com
vote provisionally and present proof of registration to the county clerk’s office within three days for their vote to count. Voters also can call 815895-7147 until 9 p.m. if they have additional questions.
The Associated Press CHICAGO – The contenders for Illinois governor crisscrossed the state Monday on the final day of campaigning before the primary elections, with a wealthy venture capitalist trying to fend off three longtime Republican lawmakers to advance to a likely fall matchup with Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. The choice Tuesday will shape a November ballot for what could be Republicans’ best chance to take back the governor’s office after more than a decade in Democratic control. Illinois’ primary also will set up races for Congress, a U.S. Senate seat, the state Legislature, statewide constitutional officers and numerous local offices. Most gubernatorial candidates focused their final campaigning on Quinn, with three of the four Republicans and one Democratic primary challenger touring the state by plane, bus and car. “We are going to sweep Pat Quinn into the dustbin of history in Illinois,” Bruce Rauner, the Republican venture capitalist, told supporters at a cafe in the northern Illinois community of Rockford before flying downstate. “We’re
District 428 plans to spend $7.5 million of $21.2 million grant By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Where can I vote? All 90 precincts in DeKalb County have designated polling locations. Unlike with early voting, voters must vote at their assigned polling place today. Two new polling places are open: Precincts that previously voted at the campus recreation center will go to
See VOTING, page A5
Governor candidates gear up for primary By SARA BURNETT and SOPHIA TAREEN
First-grader Anthony Pizano (center), 7, reaches for blocks during cleanup time Thursday at Tyler Elementary School in Dekalb. Teacher Alvena Ivy uses her classroom’s smart board to play transitional songs to help the kids know when one activity ends and the next begins. The cleanup song was “Happy” by Pharrel Williams.
Election Central Follow the local, state and national races at Daily-Chronicle. com/election. going to get him out of office.” Rauner, who is seeking office for the first time, has led in polls and fundraising over state Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady and state Treasurer Dan Rutherford in a race that has been heavily focused on unions and the state’s financial problems. Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, is widely expected to win over his lesser-known challenger, activist Tio Hardiman. Still, Hardiman, Dillard and Brady – who lost the 2010 governor’s race to Quinn – set out statewide with final pitches. “If we do what we did last time, we’ll win this primary and go on to beat Pat Quinn,” said Bloomington Republican Brady, whose scheduled stops included Springfield, Peoria and Chicago. Dillard, traveled Illinois with his onetime boss, former Gov. Jim Edgar. Dillard was Edgar’s chief of staff.
See PRIMARY, page A5
DeKALB – A $7.5 million spending spree is winding down in DeKalb School District 428 as officials examine what they have left of a $21.2 million construction grant. District officials have committed $7 million of the $21.2 million grant to multiple school upgrades in the past seven months. Another $500,000 project is on deck for approval, leaving almost $13.7 million in the district’s coffers. Of that money, nearly $3.7 million is left to spend, while the remaining $10 million will be held in reserve. The district’s recent spending, as well as the $10 million being put in saving, was prompted by recommendations from the Finance and Facilities Advisory Committee, which was formed in October 2011 to examine – among other financial considerations – how to spend the $21 million grant awarded by the Illinois Capital Development Board in 2010. Officials applied for the grant in order to fund construction of a new high school, but the grant came
A class walks into the library Thursday at Tyler Elementary School in DeKalb. The library is sectioned off from the hallway by moveable carts. Construction will start the day after school ends in June on restructuring the entire inside of the school, which was built with an open concept in the 1970s. in Oct. 2010, more than a year after voters approved a $110 million referendum to build the school. The referendum added an extra $270 a year to the property tax bill for a $200,000 home. It also dedicated funding for construction of Cortland Elementary School as well as repurposing the
Spending grant money District 428 has plans to spend $7.5 million of a $21.2 million construction grant it received in 2010. Where it’s going: • Tyler Elementary School – $3 million • Pilot technology program and upgrades – $1.5 million • Secure entrances, technology upgrades an Chesebro review – $1.5 million • Boiler at Littlejohn Elementary – $1 million • Pre-K wing at Huntley Middle School – $500,000* *Project not yet approved
Source: District 428
See GRANT, page A5
D-428 board to consider teacher cuts By KATIE DAHLSTROM
If you go
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – More than a dozen teachers could be told they won’t return to DeKalb School District 428 next year if school board members vote to Jim Briscoe dismiss them at their meeting Tuesday. Cuts up for consideration include 12 part-time teachers, three first-year
What: District 428 School Board meeting When: 7 p.m. Where: 901 S. Fourth St. DeKalb
probationary teachers, a third-year probationary teacher and another fulltime teacher. Superintendent Jim Briscoe said the cuts are part of the district’s annual reduction in force. Illinois law regard-
ing reduction in force requires the district to notify non-tenured teachers within 45 days of the end of the school year that their contracts are not being renewed. The part-time teachers up for dismissal include: physical education teachers Jonathan Colvin, Sarah Moses, and Shay Sticka; social studies teacher Jennifer Spragg; humanities teacher Kimberly Foster; art teacher Katherine Hunt; family and consumer science teacher Amanda
Tragarz; music teacher Ellen Prall; first-grade teacher Jane Weiss, and teachers Jennifer Mannerino, MaryBeth Jilek, and Kristin Murphy. Clinton Rosette band director Brian Balika will be honorably dismissed. First-year probationary teachers Terence Brown, social studies; Sandra Ruiz-Torrecilla, speech language pathologist and Kimberly Reiss, and thirdyear probationary teacher Inga Arnold also could be dismissed.
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A2 A3-5 A4
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