THURSDAY
May 21, 2015 • $ 1 .0 0
OVERTIME LOSS
DAILY CHRONICLE DeKalb falls to Burlington Central in regional semifinal / B1
HIGH
68 44 Complete forecast on page A6
daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
LOW
Facebook.com/dailychronicle
@dailychronicle
City weighs proposed tax hikes DeKalb council, financial advisory board meet; business owner opposes amusement tax By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Fitness should be encouraged, not discouraged. An amusement tax would be a disincentive for community members trying to be well, according to Ray Binkowski, owner of FitWorkz in DeKalb. The DeKalb City Council and the financial advisory board met Wednesday to discuss a series of proposed tax increases. The taxes would generate additional money toward the city’s general fund, pay for
fleet and equipment costs and fund additional capital costs. The three taxes proposed would, in turn, raise the city’s home rule tax rate, increase the tax on natural gas and levy a local tax on gross receipts of amusement facilities. It’s that 4 percent amusement tax that Binkowski said would negatively affect his business and people in the community. “We change lives,” he said at the meeting Wednesday. “We provide the means for people to be happy, healthy and well. …What I know from
the people that come into my club and ask for help is that they don’t need another barrier.” Binkowski added that while the fitness industry could be social, it wasn’t entertainment. Plus, it’s already price sensitive, he said. “I could pass the cost onto people, but they will drive an extra 4 or 5 miles to neighboring communities to save a few bucks,” he said. Sixth Ward Alderman Dave Baker said there was “no way” he wanted to put a tax on activities such as bowling or gym
Panel criticizes medical care at state prisons
memberships. He said he might have interest in the proposal if the council could pick and choose which entertainments to tax, however, like ticket sales at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center. Financial Director Cathy Haley said she would need to look into the specifics, but to her understanding there were exemptions that could be made. Haley noted the additional complexity of this tax proposal at the meeting and said the uniqueness of it was the abil-
ity to tax cable television subscriptions. “There is a lot you can do with this tax,” Haley said. “Amusement tax has been around for a good amount of time, but the tax on cable TV is fairly new and unique.” An increase of the city’s home rule sales tax could bring in additional funds of up to $4 million, with a 1 percent increase. The city’s home rule sales tax rate currently sits at 1.75 percent, second highest on a long list of towns in the Chicago area. Sycamore’s home rule
sales tax rate also is 1.75 percent. Of the comparable towns Haley referenced, only Carpentersville’s home rule sales tax is higher, at 2 percent. The sales tax increase would apply to most retail purchases. If the council were to approve the tax increase on natural gas, the price would go from 4 cents per therm to 5 cents per therm. City officials estimated the tax could bring in additional revenue of up to $220,000.
See TAXES, page A4
PUMPKIN FEST CHOOSES ITS THEME
By MICHAEL TARM The Associated Press CHICAGO – A scathing new report by court-approved researchers paints a bleak picture of medical care in Illinois prisons, describing extended treatment delays, haphazard follow-up care, chaotic record keeping and a litany of other problems. The 405-page report, based on prison visits over several months and access to thousands of prison records, suggests that shoddy care may have shortened the lives of some convicts, including a former Chicago street gang member who died of lung cancer. Promptly disputed by the Illinois Department of Corrections, the report was filed late Tuesday night in U.S. District Court in Chicago in a class-action lawsuit against the agency that oversees 49,000 inmates. The department said in a statement that the report “uses a broad brush to paint an incomplete picture of the comprehensive medical system in place.” The report closely scrutinized the cases of 63 prisoners who became ill and died in recent years. There were, it said, “significant lapses” in care in 60 percent of those cases, calling that rate “unacceptably high.” The report highlights the case of Edward Thomas, a one-time Gangster Black Disciple convicted of first-degree murder for throwing a rival head first down a Chicago elevator shaft, according to filings in his criminal case. The report doesn’t include names of inmates, but it included Thomas’ prison, age and the date of his death. A county coroner who did the autopsy on Thomas confirmed to The Associated Press that he was the inmate who died of lung cancer on Jan. 30, 2013. Thomas knew something was wrong when he began coughing up blood at Galesburg’s Hill Correctional Center in 2012. Despite Thomas’ pleas for help, the report says it took doctors six months to find a softball-size cancerous tumor clinging to his neck and lung. It was too late. He died four months later, at age 48.
AP file photo
This 2011 photo shows the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg. A new report by court-approved researchers paints a bleak picture of medical care in Illinois prisons, describing treatment delays, haphazard follow-up care, and other problems that may even have cut short the lives of some inmates.
Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Southeast Elementary School first-grader Lana Walker hops up and down Wednesday after finding out her theme, “Pumpkins in Disguise,” will be the theme for the 54th Pumpkin Festival this October. The announcement was moved to the Sycamore Center because of rain.
‘Pumpkins in Disguise’ Theme for annual Sycamore festival chosen from 113 entries By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Lana Walker knows a thing or two about disguises during Halloween time. Last year, she dressed as Elsa from “Frozen.” This year, the first-grader at Southeast Elementary School will challenge the community to think of the best disguises for pumpkins. Her theme, Pumpkins in Disguise, was selected from among 113 entries as the theme for the 2015 Sycamore Pumpkin Festival, to be held Oct. 21-25. “I asked her when she thought of Pumpkin Fest, what she thought,” her mother Erin Walker said. “We talked about the Pumpkin Parade and dressing up in costumes, so we went from there.” The theme was announced during a ceremony inside the Sycamore City Council’s traditional meeting chambers at the Sycamore Center, 308 W. State St. It was supposed to take place out-
side the courthouse, but Wednesday’s rain and cold prompted a last-minute venue change. At the ceremony, Lana received a $50 check, a plaque and an invitation to ride in the theme winner vehicle parade this fall. She said she’s looking forward to that. “It’s probably going to be fun because some people are going to watch,” she said. Southeast School also will receive a $100 check to be used for student enrichment on behalf of Walker’s win. Of the 113 entries from area elementary school students, 24 semifinalists were chosen, and they received a certificate of appreciation at Wednesday’s ceremony. Two students – Garrett Harms, a fifth-grader at Southeast Elementary, and Caden Emmert, a fourth-grader at North Elementary, received honorable mentions for their themes Lights! Camera! Pumpkins! and Home Town Pumpkin Celebrations, respectively.
“I thought it would be cool to see all the different things that people would come up with and all the different TV shows that people liked,” Garrett said of his theme. Caden chose his theme because his family and others really enjoy the Pumpkin Festival, but said he liked the winning theme. “It was a good one,” he said. “[People] like dressing up pumpkins, and that’s the point of the Pumpkin Fest.” The festival has a storied history that stretches back as far as 1956, when Wally “Mr. Pumpkin” Thurow would display pumpkins on his front lawn to give city youngsters a fun Halloween activity. It became an official celebration in 1962 with help from the Sycamore Lions Club. Thurow died in 2012, but his legacy lives on in the form of a statue of him and his trademark penny farthing bicycle at the southwest corner of Somonauk and Elm streets, along the parade
LOCAL NEWS
A&E
SPORTS
WHERE IT’S AT
Gratitude
Pop culture
Track and field
Fairdale volunteers thanked for their service / A3
National Portrait Gallery exposes the true nature of celebrities / C1
DeKalb relay team looks to capitalize on state opportunity / B1
Advice ................................ C4 Classified....................... C6-8 Comics ............................... C5 Local News....................A3, 4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World.............. A2, 4
route. Pumpkin Festival President Jerry Malmassari called Walker’s theme “terrific.” “There’s been some years when they were really cute, but were a little bit difficult to interpret what you could do with them,” he said. “This one, Pumpkin in Disguise, you can disguise [pumpkins] as your favorite artist, your favorite sports character, your favorite family member. There’s no end to what you can do with it.” Pumpkin Festival Committee theme chairwoman Jennifer Diehl said this year was more difficult to narrow down than previous years, but said the Pumpkins in Disguise should produce a lively parade and pumpkin-decorating contest this fall. “This one was just very adaptable,” she said. “Families could pick up on it for family entries, I think kids could pick up on it for their pumpkin entries. I think we’re going to see some incredible floats this year.”
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A5 Puzzles ............................... C4 Sports..............................B1-4 State ...................................A4 Weather .............................A6