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Thursday, July 10, 2014
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SCHULZ’S BODY FOUND IN RIVER
NIU task force takes aim at sex assault By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Illinois Conservation Police officer Phil Wire searches the north branch of the Kishwaukee River about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday north of the Glidden Road bridge. It was later confirmed by DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott that Wire found the body of missing DeKalb man Steven Schulz downstream at 1:08 p.m. around a bend in the river.
Friends remember DeKalb man for light-hearted antics, outdoor fun By KATIE DAHLSTROM
More online
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com KINGSTON – Steven Schulz was a man known to make friends and keep them laughing. That’s what people close to Schulz, 23, remembered after an Illinois Conservation Police officer found his body in the north branch of the Kishwaukee River at 1:08 p.m. Wednesday. “He was a clever kid,” said longtime friend Tony Terdina, of Sycamore. “He always wanted to have a good time and have everybody laughing.” Schulz, of DeKalb, was reported missing by family members Monday evening. A DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol found Schulz’s Ford pickup truck about 2:40 a.m. Monday near Route 72 and Glidden Road in rural Kingston, prompting about 20 searchers scoured the river within a half-mile of that point Tuesday using dogs, a boat
For video of the scene, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.
a man they didn’t know. After about five hours of searching Wednesday, the conservation officer in a kayak found Schulz’s body shortly after 1 p.m. about a quarter-mile north of the Glidden Road bridge, about 40 to 50 feet off shore. Schulz also had some recent run-ins with law enforcement. Court records show Northern Illinois University police arrestDeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott talks on his phone after a briefing where ed Schulz on suspicion of DUI he confirmed the body of missing DeKalb man Steven Schulz was found at at 2 a.m. Friday, when he had 1:08 p.m. Wednesday a quarter mile north of the Glidden Road bridge in the a blood-alcohol content of 0.153 north branch of the Kishwaukee River. percent. About a week earlier, he was sentenced to a year of not contacted anyone since then. court supervision for leaving and a helicopter. Schulz was last seen Sun- Friends who spoke to Schulz on the scene of a property damage day, and DeKalb Police said his Sunday said he was on his way phone records showed he had to Genoa to exchange guns with See SCHULZ, page A6
DeKALB – Raquel Chavez thinks more Northern Illinois University students might report sexual assaults if only they knew where to turn. Making it easier for sexual assault survivors to access resources will be one focus for Chavez, a senior at NIU, as well as a dozen university officials in the next three months. University President Doug Baker announced Wednesday that he has formed a task force to address concerns about sexual assault on the university campus. Twenty people will meet weekly before making recommendations to Baker on how to enhance sexual assault policies, procedures and resources Oct. 1. “I hope that women and men, when they’re assaulted, feel they have somewhere to go,” Chavez said. Baker said the decision to create the task force stemmed from a review by a task force President Barack Obama created earlier this year in response to complaints about how some universities treated campus rape victims. “It’s an issue nationally, and we want to be proactive,” Baker said. “I think we’ve got a pretty good data set, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything we can.” In 2012, there were 11 forcible sexual assaults reported on NIU’s DeKalb campus, according to the most recent safety report the university completed under the Clery Act. A forcible sexual offense is defined as one committed on a person against his or her will or on a person who is incapable of consenting. In 2010, there were six forcible sexual offenses reported, and in 2011, seven were reported. However, those numbers don’t necessarily reflect the number of such crimes that actually occurred on campus. According to a White House report, only 2 percent of survivors who were sexually assaulted while incapacitated and 13 percent of forcible rape survivors report the crime to campus or local law enforcement. Although NIU offers several resources to students, such as self-defense classes, counseling, advocacy and health services,
See TASK FORCE, page A6
Numbers at NIU Year
Offenses
2010 2011 2012
7 6 11
Percent change -14 83
Source: NIU annual safety and security report
Illinois has hired few workers to oversee fracking project By TAMMY WEBBER The Associated Press CHICAGO – More than a year after a much-lauded compromise paved the way for high-volume oil and gas extraction in Illinois, the agency in charge of overseeing the practice has hired just four of 53 new employees it said it needs as it continues working to complete rules that drillers must follow. The Department of Natural Resources has come under criticism from industry groups, lawmakers and other supporters of hydraulic fracturing who had hoped drilling
could begin this summer. That scenario now appears unlikely. The perception of delays led at one point to a threat by lawmakers to strip the DNR of its rule-making role in fracking. More recently, critics have raised suspicions that Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration is dragging its feet on implementing the fracking rules until after his November re-election bid. But agency officials said they are working diligently on filling the jobs, including posting almost two dozen, and still will meet a Nov. 15 legal deadline to have the rules in place.
“There is a large amount of work that needs to be done to stand up a new regulatory program and implement it,” DNR Director Marc Miller said. “We have been methodical and efficient in our approach ... we are making great progress.” Miller said Marc Miller “every one of our agency lawyers is working” to revise a first draft of the rules, although he would not say when he expected to complete the process. Hydraulic fracturing uses a mixture of water, chemicals
and sand to crack open previously inaccessible rock formations thousands of feet underground to release trapped oil and gas. Opponents fear it will pollute and deplete groundwater or cause health problems. The industry insists the method is safe and will create thousands of new jobs. Illinois was praised last year for a compromise between industry and environmentalists on how to regulate the practice, while other states have declared moratoriums or adopted less comprehensive regulations. But the implementing rules proposed by the DNR were criticized by
environmentalists as weakening the agreed-on provisions. Industry officials, in turn, said they would stall permits. The agency now is trying to respond to the concerns before issuing final rules. In May, drilling proponents’ impatience bubbled over into a proposal to let lawmakers write the rules instead of the DNR, but it ultimately wasn’t voted on. Even if the rules were completed, the agency does not yet have enough experts to issue permits, inspect wells and perform other tasks associated with the anticipated influx of drilling activity. Last summer,
state and industry officials said it could take a year to get the program running. Miller said it took time to write job descriptions, develop interview questions and obtain approval to begin hiring. So far the agency has hired two well inspectors, an investigator and an office worker, and 23 other jobs are posted. The agency should have 15 people hired by the end of July, and will focus on first hiring those who will work in permitting, Miller said, adding that after July, hiring “will start picking up steam.”
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
See FRACKING, page A6
Weather A2, 6 A7 B1-4
Advice Comics Classified
C4 C5 C6-8
High:
78
Low:
60