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Council approves permit for site
ADVICE TO THE CLASS OF 2015
POSSIBILITIES ABOUND
County to close on home of proposed sober house in Sycamore next week By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com
Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Kishwaukee College associate degree candidates listen to the commencement ceremony Saturday in Malta.
Local officials, educators, college graduates and business owners offer real-world wisdom By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Cam Rosenfeld wasn’t sure what to do next after completing a GED program a few years ago. But Rosenfeld said the best thing to do was to take the time to figure it out. Rosenfeld’s advice to high school graduates would be to do the same. “Taking your time isn’t a bad thing,” Rosenfeld said. “At first, I thought I had to hurry up and get done early. I didn’t think I should go to a community college, but it helped me figure out what to do and how to go about it. I changed my major four times, and that isn’t a bad thing either. It takes time, but it’s a good process.” Hundreds of students will graduate from high school this year in DeKalb County. Traditionally, the next step for those students might be to enroll in college or a trade school. In 2012, 66 percent of students across the nation enrolled in college immediately after completing high school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
it’s nice to get past what high school teaches,” he said. Recent grads going to college or trade school should get involved with different organizations and extracurricular activities, DeKalb County Chairman Mark Pietrowski said. “I was involved with the student newspaper, student government and volunteered with different nonprofits,” Pietrowski said. “It opened my eyes to different possibilities and kept me grounded.” Extracurricular activities are important, but the most important thing students can do is purDanielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com sue their own ideas, said Promod Genoa-Kingston High School graduating senior Ashley Grimm smiles for a Vohra, dean of the College of Enphoto before commencement Sunday at the school. Genoa-Kingston grad- gineering and Engineering Technology at Northern Illinois Uniuated 138 seniors. versity. “Higher education opens doors different avenues students can Sometimes, however, a less trato many opportunities upon gradtake to get a career.” ditional path is OK, too. uation and thereafter. Keep your Solorio said he thought stuAnthony Solorio, owner of One ears and eyes open. Ask as many Stop Sign Shop in DeKalb, said he dents should go to college, but how questions as you can. Choose a found his own way into his career. it would look would be different mentor and seek help in determin“I went to a bunch of different for everyone. ing what you want to do,” he said. “What’s best is different for colleges and studied a bunch of dif“Don’t limit your potential by ferent things,” he said. “I learned each individual. Students don’t what I needed to know. There are necessarily need four years, but See GRADUATES, page A5
SYCAMORE – The City Council on Monday approved the county’s request to operate a sober living home out of 491 E. State St. and also entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the county, effectively ending the past six months of heated back-and-forth between the county and city officials about the use of the property. County Administrator Gary Hanson said he was “elated” the City Council came to the decision in favor of the special use permit and the intergovernmental agree- Ken Mundy ment in a 7-1 vote. “We think it’s a good move for the community and the whole county that we will find a compromise and work together on this,” Hanson said, adding the county will close on the purchase of the home, valued at $145,000, in the next week. It will be at least two Gary Hanson months before the seven all-male recovering drug and alcohol addicts and one counselor will move into the house, Hanson said. Alderman Steve Braser was the sole “no” vote against the sober living home at the proposed location. “I still think they’re missing the issue,” he said. “There’s been no change from what they want to do. When I vote ‘no’ against this tonight, it’s not going to be no against the sober living house, it’s going to be no against 491 E. State St.” After two in-depth discussions with Drug Court Judge Robbin Stuckert, Mayor Ken Mundy flipped his opinion on the sober living home – once outspoken against pulling the property off the city’s tax roll – and began lobbying for the use of the sober living home at the proposed property based on the in-depth homework that Stuckert and the rest of the county did on four other properties. He said the county didn’t convey its research on other possible locations explicitly enough to the council to sway opinion. “I thought they passed over that when they were with [the] Council and hadn’t dwelled on that or made a strong enough point,” Mundy said. To address concerns that have been raised throughout the process, the city and county entered into an intergovernmental agreement as of Monday that states the city can revoke the special use permit if the property proves unsuitable. Also, the agreement states the county will
See SOBER HOUSE, page A5
Illinois marijuana industry pins hopes on skeptical governor The ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO – Advocates of Illinois’ troubled medical marijuana experiment hope to reassure investors by pushing to have lawmakers extend it beyond 2017, when it expires, but the initiative faces an uncertain fate on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk. Entrepreneurs and backers say the success of the fouryear program does not depend on an extension. But after a
year of stumbles, lawsuits and delays, they believe it would send a signal that the program won’t end before the state can work out the problems and do a proper evaluation. The pilot project was approved two years ago. Because of the delays, businesses aren’t yet selling the drug and aren’t expected to begin sales until later this year. “I don’t know how you could make a thoughtful decision on the program without an exten-
sion,” said Teddy Scott, CEO of PharmaCann, a suburban Chicago company that is building secure marijuana growing facilities in Hillcrest and Dwight. PharmaCann plans to open retail shops in Ottawa, North Aurora, Schaumburg and Evanston. A bill has passed the Illinois House proposing to extend the program from its current deadline of Jan. 1, 2018, to four years from when the first retail shop opens its doors. The
bill now awaits a vote in the Senate. “If I’m an investor in one of these operations, I’m going to be a bit nervous,” said Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat who sponsored the original medical marijuana legislation and the extension bill. “I’d be a lot less nervous if I had four years to work this out, than if I had two.” But Rauner, a Republican venture capitalist, has indicated he’s not a fan of an exten-
sion. Last month, he said through a spokeswoman that there was “a lot of time left to evaluate a pilot program, and we should not extend the program until it has been fully evaluated.” It’s not clear whether the governor would veto the extension bill, or if he could be persuaded to sign it. Spokeswoman Catherine Kelly told The Associated Press on Monday that the governor’s position hasn’t changed.
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Opponents say extending the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program is a step toward wholesale legalization, pushed by the same people who support decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot. “This is not about compassion,” said Sen. Kyle McCarter, a Republican from Lebanon. “This extension is just so they can solicit more users and they can improve their business model.”
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