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DeKalb’s Jessica Townsend
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Friday, June 6, 2014
SOFTBALL SECTIONAL FINAL
NEWMAN CATHOLIC CENTER
Barbs’ senior trio hopes to repeat magic of ’11 Sports, B1
House to be named for ‘Father Bob’ Faith, C1
DeKalb eyes liquor law change
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Praise thanks
Council weighs taking over issuing licenses By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
“I think [the ordinance change] will give concurrence from the breadth of the council. The liquor commissioner will have the viewpoints of the entire council.” – Mayor John Rey
If you go n What:
DeKalb City Council meeting n Where: DeKalb City Hall, 200 S. Fourth St., DeKalb n When: 6 p.m. Monday
DeKALB – DeKalb City Council members could soon have the power to issue new liquor licenses. Aldermen are considering a change to the city’s liquor ordinance that would shift the authority to approve new liquor licensees from the mayor, who also serves as the liquor commissioner, to the full City Council. The change would be the latest to the city’s overhaul of the liquor ordinance that has taken place in the past two years. The city eliminated the liquor commission and simplified the liquor license classifications. Currently, the process for new liquor licenses entail staff making a recommendation to the mayor, who reviews, accepts or rejects liquor license applications. The proposed ordinance change was narrowly passed by the council during its meeting last week on a 5-3 vote that moved it to the council’s Monday meeting. Mayor John Rey was among five officials who voted in support of the changes, saying he welcomes the council being involved in the vetting process. While Rey would still make recommendations to the council and be the final authority on renewals, the new ordinance would take away his sole authority for new licenses.
See LIQUOR, page A3
Threats cited as reason for swap secrecy
Photos by Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: Joe Bussone shakes hands with the Warriors’ Watch Riders who were there to greet veterans during a welcome ceremony for the veterans returning from an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday at Midway Airport. TOP: Peter Johnson, escorted by sailor Courtney Panfil, a Navy electrician’s mate/fireman, gets a warm welcome during the ceremony for the Honor Flight veterans.
2 local WWII veterans take Honor Flight By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com
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HICAGO – Sycamore resident Joe Bussone was one of the last World War II veterans honored in a welcome home parade at Midway Airport, and he wanted it that way. Bussone stopped and talked to almost every person who cheered him for participating in an Honor Flight Chicago trip to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. A total of 86 veterans with an average age of 89 took the day trip to see veterans’ memorials. “They thanked me,” Bus-
sone said of the people he met, “but it was an honor to serve this country and its people.” After the parade, a woman also told Bussone he made her day and gave him a kiss on the lips. Bussone served in the southwest Pacific and the Philippines in the Navy from 1944 to 1947 as a motor machinist mate first class. Bussone and DeKalb resident Pete Johnson were the only locals who made the all-expenses-paid trip Wednesday, just two days before the 70th anniversary of D-Day, when U.S., British and Canadian forces invaded beaches on France’s Normandy coast, in
a turning point in the war in Europe. Bussone’s son, Paul, and Johnson’s daughter, Jill Rahn, accompanied them on the trip. Honor Flight Chicago estimates there are 25,000 living World War II veterans in the Chicago area. They currently only take World War II vets, but are accepting applications for Korean War veterans. Those who made the trip Wednesday toured the National World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Mu-
Source: Bergdahl’s life at risk
Officials said Congress wasn’t told beforehand of the secret prisoner swap involving Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl because it was thought the Taliban would kill him if it went public.
See HONOR FLIGHT, page A6
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“They thanked me, but it was an honor to serve this country and its people.”
The ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON – The Obama administration told senators it didn’t notify Congress about the pending swap of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban officials because of intelligence the Taliban might kill him if the deal was made public. That fear – not just the stated concerns that Bergdahl’s health might be failing – drove the administration to make the deal to rescue him, bypassing the law that lawmakers be notified when detainees are released from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, congressional and administration officials said Thursday. They spoke only on the condition of anonymity because
seum. Johnson served from 1942 to 1946 in the U.S. Army as a technical sergeant fourthgrade in Saipan, Japan, and Korea. Sporting an American flag tie, he was chosen as the sole World War II vet to participate in a ceremony with a military color guard and active duty service personnel at the National World War II Memorial. The ceremony included taps and the national anthem. Johnson said that moment was his favorite part of the trip.
Joe Bussone of Sycamore
Learn more Honor Flight Chicago is looking for WWII veterans to take on a one-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. To apply, visit www.honorflightchicago.org.
Online View video from a welcome ceremony for the DeKalb County veterans returning from an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., at Daily-Chronicle.com. Joe Bussone, escorted by his son Paul Bussone and Seaman Apprentice Brandon Hanna, greets supporters during a ceremony Wednesday at Midway Airport for the veterans returning from an honor flight to Washington, D.C. Bussone served in the southwest Pacific and the Philippines in the Navy from 1944 to 1947.
Inside Veterans and visitors flock to Normandy, France, to mark the anniversary of D-Day. PAGE A2
See SECRECY, page A6
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