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Thursday, July 17, 2014
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Rauner campaigns in DeKalb Touts pro-business agenda during visit with editorial staff By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner touted alternatives to solve the state’s long-term economic problems as he campaigned in DeKalb County on Wednesday. Rauner, a venture capitalist from Winnetka who hopes to unseat Gov. Pat Quinn in November, criticized the changes to the state’s pension system that lawmakers approved in December, cronyism and education funding shortfalls. He addressed local Republicans at
Library project contracts approved
cost-of-living increases and cap the amount of earnings that can be used toward retirement benefits. Although the law is on hold pending a court ruling on its constitutionality, the Illinois Supreme court has already declared the part of the law that would have required retirees to contribute to their health care unconstitutional. Rauner said he believes the Illinois Supreme Court eventually will declare the entire law unconstitutional. “We need to protect our exPENSION REFORM Changes proposed to Illi- isting pension system,” Rauner nois’ pension system would cut said. “Our retirees deserve to Hopkins Park in DeKalb and later visited the Daily Chronicle newsroom. While local Republicans said they’re waiting for details from Rauner, they’re enthused about the broad shifts he’s promised for the state. “His approach to being governor will be different and has caught the attention of those who want to see change in Springfield,” said DeKalb County Republican Party Chairman Steve Kuhn.
get what they were promised.” As an alternative, Rauner suggested freezing pensions and accruals at current levels for active employees while creating a second pension system that would apply to new employees. The latter, Rauner said, should be a defined contribution plan similar to the 401(k) plans common for private sector workers. “That’s fair, I think, to government workers,” Rauner said. “It’s fair to the taxpayers, more affordable in the long run.”
See RAUNER, page A5
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner speaks to the Daily Chronicle editorial board Wednesday in the newsroom in DeKalb.
Chickens coming home to roost
DeKalb board sets groundbreaking for project July 26 By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – A little more than a week is all that stands between DeKalb Public Library leaders and the groundbreaking for the $24 million building expansion. Starting the project on time hinged on the approval the library received from the DeKalb City Council on Monday for the expansion, which will add a 46,000-square-foot addition, as well as additional parking for the 80-year-old, 19,000-square-foot building at 309 Oak St. “Now we are on the green light to go to start construction,” said Graham Harwood, who works for a consulting firm representing the library, to library board members Wednesday, when they approved $3.2 million in construction contracts. DeKalb library officials have been discussing an expansion since 2007. Until the state awarded the library an $11.6 million Public Library Construction Act grant, board President Clark Neher said he had some doubts about where those years of discussions would go. After Wednesday’s board meeting, those doubts had dissipated. “I feel terrific about that fact that it’s actually happening,” Neher said. “I think now it’s at a stage where it will happen for sure.” To pay for the remainder of the project, the city of DeKalb borrowed $6.5 million and provided $2 million in tax increment financing funds. The library is borrowing $2.8 million, which board members expect to repay through local fundraising efforts. The library also chipped in
See LIBRARY, page A5
Photos by Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Emily Schilling, 17, watches her brother, Kevin, 9, pick up a chicken Wednesday at their family’s home in Earlville. The Schillings have an estimated 60 chickens in their backyard.
Backyard fowl bringing fresh eggs to DeKalb County tables By JESSI HAISH jhaish@shawmedia.com
A silky chicken roams the Schilling’s backyard on Wednesday.
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DeKALB – Christine Schilling recalls the time she found her son watching TV on the couch with a chicken with fond memories. Schilling, who lives on a farmstead on the outskirts of Earlville in DeKalb County, has been around chickens her entire life and considers them part of the family. “Chickens are smarter than what people think,” Schilling said. “They’re very humanlike. And they definitely have a lot of character.” As food consumers become more concerned about where their food comes from and how the animals that provide it are treated, more
Know more To watch backyard chicken how-to videos, visit the blog of Andy Larson, University of Illinois extension local food systems and small farms educator, at web. extension.illinois.edu/bdo/eb358.
people are becoming interested in keeping chicken pens in their own backyards. Schilling uses her chickens’ eggs as a way to feed her family, and she said it’s nice to know where some of her family’s food comes from. Andy Larson, local food systems and small farms educator for the University of Illinois extension, hosted a how-to seminar in early July about raising chickens and
has created informational web videos about the topic, as well. “[Raising chickens] has been trending upward recently, and I don’t have a good explanation as to why,” Larson said. “I think it’s primarily important to people who are interested in hyperlocal foods. People are getting interested in where their food is coming from. People are concerned about what they’re putting in their [mouths].” Schilling’s 70 chickens, some for show and some for laying, have about an acre of land to roam. She trades the eggs with neighbors, and her children love the animals, as well.
See CHICKENS, page A5
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