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Monday, April 21, 2014
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Local leaders laud libraries By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Karl Pettitt can’t remember the first time he went to a library, which could be a side effect of having a library play such an integral role in his childhood. Pettitt, a law librarian at Northern Illinois University, said he hopes that people of all ages will be able to have the same positive experiences, which is why he signed a document in supporting vibrant libraries in the community. About 40 people signed the Declaration for the Right to Libraries on Thursday at Northern Illinois University’s Founders Memorial Library.
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The document is part of the American Library Association’s push to sustain funding for and recognize the critical role played by libraries of all types – public, academic and private – in communities. “Libraries are really the place where people go for the information they need,” DeKalb Public Library Director Dee Coover said. “We’re talking about technology,
books and all the other things libraries offer. People need to have access.” Coover spoke briefly before the signing ceremony, as did DeKalb Mayor John Rey, who called libraries a necessity of life that add value to the community. NIU President Doug Baker recalled his first visit to a library as a child in Odell, Ore. “We were charged with thinking of anything in the world we wanted to learn about,” Baker said. “The world opened up.” The ALA suggests the declaration stays in the community so people can sign it and library leaders can carry on conversations about the im-
portance of their local facilities. While some libraries struggle for funding, DeKalb library leaders signed the declaration knowing their library received $11.6 million from the state of Illinois to help fund the $24 million, 46,000-square-foot addition to the historic building at 309 Oak St., which will serve a growing number of patrons. Numbers from the DeKalb library show that last year more people visited the library and more items were checked out than the year before. Last year, the DeKalb Public Library served 17,912
See LIBRARIES, page A8
Katie Dahlstrom – kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Lisa Fisher and Karl Pettitt sign the Declaration for the Right to Libraries on Thursday at Northern Illinois University’s Founders Memorial Library in DeKalb.
PATROLLING THE HALLS
Durbin says he’s taking Oberweis seriously By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia
Clinton Rosette Middle School student resource officer Jose Jaques (right) talks to Mrs. Baum’s seventh-grade class after practicing an intruder drill April 15.
School resource officers help students learn, solve problems By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Clinton Rosette Middle School students started the school day recently with an intruder drill. Instead huddling in a corner of the room, students are now trained to evacuate dangerous areas and, in worst-case scenarios, throw objects at intrud-
ers if they have no other option. DeKalb High School police liaison officer Aaron Lockhart is one officer using this new training method. “An intruder’s main goal is to harm students. If we just let the intruder do whatever they want, it’ll end up a lot worse than us enhancing survivability,” Lockhart said. “That’s why we’re teaching these kids.
Empower people to help themselves.” Lockhart is not the only officer teaching students potentially life-saving lessons like these at area schools. DeKalb School District 428 has two police officers assigned to area schools: Lockhart is DeKalb High School’s sole officer, and Jose Jaques divides his time between Clinton Rosette and Hunt-
ley middle schools. The district pays 75 percent of these officers’ salaries, according to a November board meeting agenda. Soon, there will be a new officer at Sycamore School District 427. The school board voted last week to pay $60,000 a year for a new school resource officer position at Sycamore Middle School beginning in August. Sycamore Po-
lice Chief Don Thomas said the department already has selected patrol officer Brad Caldwell to serve at Sycamore Middle. There already is a resource officer at Sycamore High School. Genoa-Kingston School District does not have any school resource officers, superintendent Joe Burgess said.
CHICAGO – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said he’s taking his opponent in the November election more seriously than any challenger since he first was elected to the Senate nearly two decades ago. Durbin’s rival, dairy magnate and GOP state Sen. Jim Oberweis, is considered a longshot to unseat the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat. Yet Durbin has been staffing up statewide field offices, bringing on social media-savvy campaign veterans and banking more than $6 million. Durbin said he doesn’t want to underestimate Oberweis, who enters the race with personal wealth, statewide name recognition from a chain of family dairies and ice cream shops and a half dozen bids for public office. He’s also facing a midterm election climate that’s historically tough on the sitting president’s party. “I’m not going to have anybody at the end of this campaign say, ‘He didn’t take it seriously,’ ” said Durbin, who’s seeking his fourth U.S. Senate term. But there may be more to the decision than Durbin playing it safe. For all that Oberweis may have going for him, he also has a history of gaffes on issues such as abortion and immigration that has turned off voters in such a blue state. Democrats could draw attention to him in an attempt to paint Republicans
See OFFICERS, page A8
See ELECTION, page A8
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