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Friday, April 25, 2014
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Sentence cut to 9 years in fatal crash Judge admits mistake, reduces Benjamin Black’s prison term By LAWERENCE SYNETT lsynett@shawmedia.com ST. CHARLES – The judge who reduced Benjamin Black’s sentence by three years Thursday said he erred by twice considering the 29-year-old caused serious physical harm when issuing the original sentence. Kane County Judge James Hallock reduced Black’s sentence from 12 to nine years for driving with heroin in his system during the February 2013
crash that killed 11-year-old Matthew Ranken of Sycamore. The revised sentence gives Black 353 days’ credit for time served, and includes two years’ probation upon his Benjamin r e l e a s e . H e Black must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, and could complete his sentence in less than seven years. Black also faces felony theft charges in
DeKalb County in an unrelated incident that occurred after the crash. “The judge ruled correctly and admitted his error,” said D.J. Tegeler, Black’s attorney. “I truly believe he accidentally ruled on an improper factor. Mr. Black is pleased with today’s decision, but still has problems realizing the harm he has caused.” The sentencing range Black faced for aggravated driving under the influence – three to 14 years in prison – was based
On the web For video of the court proceedings, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.
on the crash causing a death, so it should not have been considered a second time in sentencing, Black listed as factor No. 1 in the appeal. “The court never likes to say ‘plain error,’ especially when they are speaking about themselves, but having an op-
portunity to review the case law, it was plain error to rely on factor No. 1,” Hallock said. “The court at this time finds that the original sentence wrongfully placed some emphasis, maybe not as much as Mr. Tegeler believes, but some emphasis on that factor No. 1, including the death of the victim.” Matthew’s mother, Tonda Ranken, was visibly upset and broke down as she left the courtroom. She declined to speak after the hearing.
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Tegeler said Black still struggles with the crash he caused and its aftermath. “He still has trouble forgiving himself for what has occurred,” he said. Black pleaded guilty in November to two counts of aggravated driving under the influence in connection with the crash. He was driving a Ford Expedition near the intersection
See SENTENCE, page A6
Ill. Doctor, 2 others from U.S. slain in Afghanistan By CARLA K. JOHNSON and DON BABWIN The Associated Press
Photos by Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Graduate student Tamara Boston (left) and sophomore Christina Palmer stand among the Bold Futures idea posters Thursday while watching a presentation during the Big Bold Event at the Holmes Student Center at Northern Illinois University.
Proposals at Big Bold Event address some of NIU’s concerns By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com DeKALB – To address its retention rate, Chad Glover thinks first-year students at Northern Illinois University should receive a discount for involvement in community service projects. Glover, an officer at NIU’s Human Resource Services, detailed this “Make a Difference, Get a Discount” idea Thursday evening during the Big Bold Event, a day that included presentations of proposed ideas NIU could use to improve the student experience, attract more students and improve student retention. “Building roots in the community makes students feel vested in the community,” Glover told a group of spectators in the Duke Ellington Ballroom at the Holmes Student Center. Four people gave presentations Thursday during the event, which also included musical performances by the New Orleans brass band. The ideas were formulated from a couple of six-day “Bold Futures” workshops NIU held that invited students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to come up with proposed solutions to ad-
President Doug Baker takes a cellphone photo of the standing-room-only crowd Thursday during the Big Bold Event at the Holmes Student Center at Northern Illinois University. dress key areas. One of the main areas NIU officials want to address is the university’s retention rate. Officials have said that only about two-thirds of students who were freshmen in 2012-13 returned as sophomores during the 2013-14 academic year. Glover said his group did not talk to any community members, besides the one in their group, when formulating their ideas. He also did not know what specific discount students could
receive for volunteering. “Imagination is the limit,” Glover said. “[Volunteering] is already a strength, but this is just a way to build upon it.” Many ideas were proposed Thursday. A presentation that focused on celebrating all four seasons at NIU suggested the university could deck the campus out with lights during the holidays, have a square-foot of garden beds for each squarefoot of pavement, and even form a partnership with Corn Fest,
DeKalb’s summer festival. Another presentation that focused on getting NIU out of its status as a suitcase campus – where students go home every weekend – had the idea to create late-night venues students younger than 21 could visit on weekends. The venue could include bowling, movies, bands and open mic performances. All of the proposed ideas can be viewed at niu.edu/president/ bold_futures/. NIU President Doug Baker said many of the ideas can become a reality. Declining state funding, which leads to an increased reliance on student tuition and fees for revenue, makes it even more important to make changes. “We lose if we do everything the same,” Baker said, “but we’re not going to do everything the same. We can do it better.” Jennifer Komis, whose husband has been an NIU student since Fall 2012, gave a presentation that focused on better serving nontraditional students. Komis has two toddler-aged children. Komis, who plans to attend NIU in May, said the campus
See NIU, page A6
CHICAGO – From Chicago to Afghanistan, Dr. Jerry Umanos dedicated his service to poor children. The pediatrician was among three Americans killed when an Afghan security guard opened fire Thursday at a Kabul hospital. He was volunteering in Afghanistan to train young doctors, periodically returning to Chicago to work in a Christian clinic on the city’s southwest side. Umanos “was always working to help inner-city kids and trying to help out any needy, poor kids anywhere,” said Jeff Schuitema, Umanos’ brother-inlaw. The fatal shootings at Cure International Hospital in western Kabul were the latest in a string of Jerry deadly attacks on foreign Umanos civilians in the Afghan capital this year. In an interview inside her Chicago home, Jan Schuitema, Umanos’ wife, said he always wanted to work with children, and became fascinated with Afghanistan when visiting through a Christian clinic in 2006. “What he would really want people who care about this to know is that he really did love Afghanistan and the Afghan people,” said Jan Schuitema, a teacher in Chicago who also spent time teaching in Afghanistan. “This should in no way negatively impact people’s feelings about the country or about the people in the country,” she said. “They are no different than us here.” The couple moved individually back and forth between the two countries. They knew other people who had been killed in Afghanistan – doctors, nurses and community development workers. Yet they did not live in fear. “There’s always a concern. This isn’t the first time we’ve been through this. And there’s always a thought that this could happen,” she said. “It’s a reality, but it doesn’t, we weren’t afraid. When you know you’ve got God’s backing, the fear is not there.” In addition to the pediatrician who was killed, “also two others who were here to meet him, and they were also American nationals,” said Afghanistan’s Minister of Health Soraya Dalil. “The two visitors were father and son, and a woman who was also in the visiting group was wounded.” Colleagues in Chicago are heartbroken about the loss of Umanos, 57, who
See DOCTOR, page A6
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