DAILY CHRONICLE
May 30-31, 2015 • $1.50
WEEKEND SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
The Associated Press CHICAGO – Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert paid hush money to conceal claims that the Illinois Republican sexually molested someone decades ago, a person familiar with the allegations said Friday. The person spoke to The Associated Press Dennis on the condition Hastert of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing and the allegations are not contained in an indictment issued Thursday. The specific nature of the claims was not immediately clear. The federal indictment accused Hastert of agreeing to pay $3.5 million to keep a person from Yorkville, where he was a longtime high school teacher and wrestling coach, silent about “prior misconduct,” but the court papers did not detail the wrongdoing. Several media outlets reported similar details Friday, citing unnamed federal officials. The Los Angeles Times, which was the first to report the specifics, cited two federal law enforcement officials, one of whom said Hastert paid a male to keep quiet about allegations that the former speaker molested him back in his coaching days. The official said the case had nothing to do with public corruption or Hastert’s time in elected office.
The indictment accused Hastert of agreeing to pay the money to a person identified in the document only as “Individual A,” to “compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against” that person. It noted that Hastert was a high school history teacher and coach from 1965 to 1981 in Yorkville. It went on to say that Individual A has been a resident of Yorkville and has known Hastert for most of Individual A’s life, but it did not describe their relationship. Legal experts said the fact that federal prosecutors noted Hastert’s tenure in Yorkville in the indictment’s first few sentences strongly suggests some connection between the allegations and that time and place. “Notice the teacher and coach language,” said Jeff Cramer, a former federal prosecutor and head of the Chicago office of the investigation firm Kroll. “Feds don’t put in language like that unless it’s relevant.” No one has contacted the school district where Hastert worked to report any misconduct involving him, school officials Friday said in a statement. The district did not learn of the indictment until Thursday. Hastert, who has not been arrested, was a little-known GOP leader when he was chosen to succeed Newt Gingrich as speaker. Hastert was picked after favored Louisiana Rep. Bob Livingston resigned following his admission of several sexual affairs.
Sycamore’s Hooker to compete in 3 races at track state final / B1 daily-chronicle.com
HIGH
LOW
63 39 Complete forecast on page A8
Facebook.com/dailychronicle
@dailychronicle
DeKALB COUNTY JAIL EXPANSION PLAN MOVES FORWARD
Source says ex-speaker paid to hide sex abuse By ERIC TUCKER and MICHAEL TARM
LAST SPRINT
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy Sarah Floyel pats down an inmate May 18 outside of the women’s cell block of the DeKalb County Jail before transporting her. BELOW: DeKalb County Sheriff’s Lt. Joyce Klein shows the long closet at the DeKalb County Jail that is used to store the inmates’ personal effects. It routinely has more property than space and the excess property is put into marked plastic bins above the lockers.
Focus on overcrowding By BRETT ROWLAND browland@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – A DeKalb County committee is preparing to move forward with plans for a $32 million project to expand the DeKalb County Jail with a funding plan that won’t rely on airline fuel tax revenue. The Jail Solution Committee, formed this year to address longstanding overcrowding at the 89-bed Sycamore facility, is putting together a package of recommendations regarding how to pay for an expansion that they hope will solve jail crowding problems for decades to come. The jail often houses far more inmates than it was designed to hold. In fact, the jail hasn’t been below capacity in the past six or seven years, said Lt. Joyce Klein, who runs the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division. In April,
the jail had an average daily population of 114. To cope, inmates are regularly transferred to jails in neighboring Boone and Kendall counties, at a cost of $50 a day. The county has spent about $7 million over the past eight years to house its inmates elsewhere, Klein has said. The cramped conditions at the jail – where inmates routinely sleep on the floor,
are handcuffed to benches or confined to rooms not designed to serve as holding cells – are at a tipping point, Klein said. “The lack of space is really a safety problem,” she said. The committee will propose using fees from Waste Management’s landfill, which accepts up to 500,000 tons of garbage a year, to pay for the expansion, along with about $5 million in
uncommitted county farm sales tax funds that will become available once the DeKalb County Courthouse expansion project bonds are paid off in 2029, DeKalb County Finance Director Peter Stefan said. Additional money, in the form of internal borrowing from the general fund, could also be used if needed, he said. The committee will recommend a new building 40 feet to east of the existing jail and connecting the two with a skywalk. The new building would bring the jail’s capacity to 163, although only 133 beds would be immediately filled and staffed, according to county documents. There also would be enough space to add another 56 beds to accommodate future growth. A portion of the landfill
See JAIL, page A6
See HASTERT, page A6
DeKalb considers air conditioning for Egyptian Theatre By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The city of DeKalb has invested more than $2 million in capital projects at the Egyptian Theatre since 1989, but now officials are contemplating a project that could cost double that. Installing air conditioning in the 85-year-old theater that is home to DeKalb County’s largest movie screen would cost an estimated $3 million to $5 million. It also would allow the theater – which closes during
Voice your opinion Should the city of DeKalb pay to install air conditioning at the Egyptian Theatre? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
the summer months – to have a yearround schedule. Alex Nerad, executive director of the Egyptian, said installing air conditioning would also help protect investments the city and community have already made in the theater.
“The heat and humidity create a maintenance nightmare for the plaster, electronics and fabric,” he said. The installation project itself would cost between $3 million to $5 million. Over the past 20 years, the city has spent about $2 million on the Egyptian, said Jennifer Diedrich, the city’s economic development coordinator. Budgetary discussions among DeKalb’s City Council and Financial Advisory Board members are in full
DeKalb officials are considering the installation of air conditioning in the Egyptian Theatre. The project would cost an estimated $3 million to $5 million, but it also would allow the theater to have a year-round schedule.
See AIR CONDITIONING, page A6
Shaw Media file photo
LIFESTYLE
LOCAL NEWS
SPORTS
WHERE IT’S AT
Fancy flowers
‘Cupcake Law’
Holding on
High-impact floral designs taking over indoor decor / C1
Sycamore considering rule to allow homemakers to sell baked goods / A3
Extra-inning heroics lead G-K baseball to championship / B4
Advice ................................ C4 Classified........................D1-4 Comics ............................... C5 Local News.................... A2-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World.............. A2, 5
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A7 Puzzles ............................... C4 Sports..............................B1-4 State ...................................A4 Weather .............................A8
Customer’s Choice: Big Savings for Small Businesses Save money – your way! A second digital phone line for 99¢ or a second phone free. Limited Time Offer – Act Today!
dnacom.com/morebusiness
(815) 217-0267 adno=0324617