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Monday, March 24, 2014
FACE TIME WITH ... ASHLEY MURCIA • LOCAL, A2
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Murcia runs online studio from Sycamore
DeKalb pitching will have two aces on the mound
439 projects displayed at science fair
NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CONVOCATION CENTER
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By STEPHEN HABERKORN news@daily-chronicle.com DeKALB – Young scientists tackled issues from diabetes to firefighting in science fair projects displayed Saturday as part of a regional competition at Northern Illinois University. Northern Illinois Region 5 Junior Academy of Science Fair had 439 projects presented by seventh- through 12th-graders from 45 different schools in the region. The 1,000-seat Sandburg Auditorium was filled beyond capacity for the awards ceremony in the afternoon. “Science education and [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] education is growing a lot in Illinois,” said Judy Scheppler, Region 5 Science Fair Director. “There’s a real blossoming and blooming of student research, especially in the Northern part of the state.” Theresa Do, 16, a Jacobs High School student from
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Country singer Chase Rice points to the audience while singing one of the first songs of his set Thursday night at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center. Rice opened for artists Brett Eldridge and headliner Billy Currington.
Management staff looks to find new uses for arena, stadium By DEBBIE BEHRENDS
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dbehrends@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The 10,000-seat Northern Illinois University Convocation Center has new management staff, and their first order of business is to find new community-oriented uses for not only the arena, but also the stadium and other campus spaces. In January, the university hired John Cheney as senior associate athletic director for facilities and event operations. In early March, John Faso was hired as convocation center director. “We want to produce what the community and students want to see here,” Faso said. “Concerts are great, but I don’t see Taylor Swifts rolling through here.”
How many events have you attended at Northern Illinois University’s Convocation Center in the past year? Vote now at Daily-Chronicle.com. Being new not only to the staff, but also the area, the duo reviewed the 201 events held there last calendar year. The events included singleand multiple-day events such as high school and college commencements, concerts, dances, job and internship fairs, the Kishwaukee Family YMCA’s Halloween party, STEMfest, a conference of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Northern Illinois Farm Show and numerous athletic events.
Faso said the first thing they plan to change is to become more aggressive with customer service. “We feel we can distinguish ourselves in that way,” Cheney said. “We want our guests to have an exceptional experience here – no matter what the event is.” Several people studying in the Holmes Student Center on Sunday said they’ve attended few – or no – events at the center. “I had a 10-ticket basketball pass last year,” said DeKalb resident Malcom Swanson. “I don’t attend much there. I do go to football games, though.” Student Shaheer Sidd from Pakistan said he’s never been
They want to attract more events that draw people from throughout the region, which in turn will help hotels and local restaurants. They also want to be able to compete with Chicago and Rockford area venues. “We would like to steal from those venues,” Faso said. “No event is off the table – trade shows, corporate events, speakers series – A to Z.” Faso said Thursday’s Billy Currington concert was the first event that offered beer and wine at the concession stands. “It’s possible the lack of alcohol has been a negative for some performers,” Faso said. “This just points to the fact that we want to be competitive and provide amenities.”
Carpentersville, is developing an artificial intelligence program for smart phones that will calculate a predictive glucose level for diabetics and give them a warning when they are approaching danger. Do got the idea for her project when a friend’s relative lost his leg because of diabetes. “I want to be able to know that I am helping people out there and benefiting society and advancing the human condition,” she said. Ranjani Sundar, a 16-year-old Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy junior from Naperville, studied the effects of plasticizers on the female reproductive system. She worked in an obstetrics and gynecology lab at Northwestern University and found that the supposedly safer nonBPA alternatives have the same negative effects as the chemicals they’re
See FAIR, page A8
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Halle Martin, 12, a seventh-grader at St. Mary’s School in Sycamore, controls her Automated Remote Controlled Hazardous Entry Equipment (ARCHEE) Saturday during the 2014 Northern Illinois Region 5 Science Fair project session semifinals at the Holmes Student Center at Northern Illinois University.
See NIU, page A8
Flood insurance rate spikes to ripple across Illinois By JIM SUHR The Associated Press ST. LOUIS – In a western Illinois city that hustles out sandbags every time the Mississippi River acts up, Shawn McNett is among Quincy’s fortunate for not being required to have flood insurance for the three-story home he inherited years ago. But now that it’s up for sale, McNett frets the reason it isn’t getting a sniff: Buyers don’t want to take on the insurance
More inside More information on the flood insurance legislation. Page A4.
tab that’s about to rise like the Mississippi itself for millions of Americans. Policyholders who have long enjoyed subsidized rates under the debt-ridden National Flood Insurance Program will see premiums rise steadily in the coming years, despite
a rate-relief law signed Friday by President Barack Obama that will soften the blow for those who were hit hardest. For years, affordable flood insurance was offered for homes and businesses built before there were many rules about building close to the water. But premiums collected have fallen far short of the amount of payouts, putting the program $24 billion in debt. Congress pressed to change that in 2012, passing a law requiring 1.1 million policyhold-
ers to start paying rates based on the true risk of flooding at their properties. But after public outcry, Congress scaled it back with legislation that would subject affected homeowners to annual premium increases as high as 18 percent until the government is collecting enough to pay out claims. Owners of businesses and second homes face mandatory increases of 25 percent each year – in Illinois, that’s 4,000 policy holders – until they start paying a
rate based on the actual risk of flooding. The fallout appears profound in Illinois, partly because of the state’s proximity to the Mississippi, Ohio and Illinois rivers and their tributaries. An Associated Press analysis shows that half of the nearly 49,000 Illinois policies through the program are paying subsidized rates set to rise as those discounts are shaved or eliminated. Those affected include 20,000 holders of pri-
mary residential policies facing up to 18 percent increases, though exactly how much is murky. Illinoisans pay $44 million in premiums. In 17,000-resident Westchester west of Chicago, two creeks have been the local nuisance, accounting for two big floods in about four years. Of the village’s 341 subsidized policyholders, a whopping 75 percent face higher premiums – something the village’s
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