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Local jobless rate down in May Despite data, lowest since 2008, businesses remain guarded in outlook By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb County has the lowest unemployment rate since 2008, recently released data shows, but employment officials remain cautiously optimistic about job growth during summer months known for their economic drag. The unemployment rate in DeKalb County fell to 6.4
Militant releases audio message
percent in May, a 1.8 percent drop from May 2013 when the county had an 8.2 percent unemployment rate, according to seasonally unadjusted data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. “That’s a big drop,” IDES spokesman Greg Rivara said. “You have unemployment rates that are starting to match rates from 2008, right before the bottom dropped out.” Of the 58,419 people count-
ed among the labor force in DeKalb County – those employed or unemployed and actively seeking work – 3,738 people were unemployed in May. The last time DeKalb County Paul Borek had an unemployment rate below 7 percent was in December 2008 when
unemployment was measured at 6.1 percent. The City of DeKalb’s unemployment rate mirrored that of the county, dropping to 6.7 percent compared with 8.3 percent in May 2013, according to the report. In DeKalb, 1,599 people of the 23,729 member labor force were unemployed in May. Some employment growth can be credited to the 20 employers who have moved to
or expanded in the county in the past three years, said Paul Borek, executive director of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation. Despite the positive numbers, Borek said many business owners in DeKalb County remain guarded in their outlook for the future because they are uncertain about financial policies at the state
DeKalb County unemployment rate 2014
2013
January February
8.3 8.7
9.7 9.3
March April
7.7 6.8 6.4
8.7 8.4 8.2
May
Source: Illinois Department of Employment Security
See JOBLESS, page A8
DeKALB COUNTY CLEANS UP AFTER STORMS ROLL THROUGH AREA
Officials investigating house fire
Urges Muslims to build Islamic state By RYAN LUCAS The Associated Press BAGHDAD – The leader of the extremist group that has overrun parts of Iraq and Syria has called on Muslims around the world to flock to territories under his control to fight and build an Islamic state. In a recording posted online Tuesday, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared he wants to turn the enclave his fighters have carved out in the heart of the Middle East into a magnet for militants. He also presented himself as the leader of Islam worldwide, urging Muslims everywhere to rise up against oppression. The audio message came two days after al-Baghdadi’s group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, unilaterally declared the establishment of an Islamic state, or caliphate, in the land it controls. It also proclaimed al-Baghdadi the caliph, and demanded that all Muslims around the world pledge allegiance to him. His group’s forceful seizure of territory and its grand pronouncement of a caliphate have transformed the Iraqiborn al-Baghdadi into one of the leading figures of the global jihadi movement, perhaps even eclipsing al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri. The blitz across Iraq has pushed the death toll there to levels unseen since the worst sectarian bloodletting in 2006 during the U.S. occupation. The United Nations said Tuesday that more than 2,400 Iraqis were killed last month. That tally would make June the deadliest month in Iraq since at least April 2005, when The Associated Press began tracking casualty figures there. After melting away in the initial onslaught, Iraq’s military and security forces have regrouped and managed to stem the tide at the outskirts of Shiite-dominated regions. The country’s political leaders, however, have been
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Amy Allen talks to the homeowner, her sister, Brandy Ballantine, on the phone Tuesday in front of 307 Stearn Road in the River Bend subdivision in Genoa. An overnight garage fire, possibly from a lightning strike, engulfed the home Monday night during the second round of storms that hit DeKalb County. Ballantine and her boyfriend were not home Monday night when a lightning strike is thought to have started the fire on the garage roof. BELOW: Illinois State Fire Marshal Kenny Arnold looks at the remains of the garage Tuesday as he investigates the cause of the fire.
Weather system knocked down trees, transformers By JESSI HAISH jhaish@shawmedia.com
How to help Local churches are collecting donations for the Genoa family whose house burned after a suspected lightning strike Monday. Donations can be dropped from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday through July 11 at Trinity Lutheran
Church, 33930 N. State Road, in Genoa. Items needed include girls clothing sizes 6, 14-16; baby clothes size 18-24 months; men’s extra large T-shirts; women’s medium T-shirts; men’s 33-34 pants; and women’s 8-9 pants.
GENOA – Amy Allen was happy to find her sister’s family cat, Fluffers, alive and well Tuesday after a fire destroyed the family’s single-story home in the River Bend subdivision. “One of the first things I said when I arrived was, ‘Where’s Fluffers?’ ” Allen said. “At about 3 a.m. we found him, wet and scared, hiding behind a box in the basement.” Allen’s sister, Brandy Ballantine, and her three children were visiting Ballantine’s mother. Ballantine’s longtime boyfriend, Eric Peterson, lives with them. He was at work about 10:40 p.m. when a neighbor reported the roof of their house
at 307 Stearn Road was on fire. “It’s a godsend that it worked out like that,” Peterson said. “Right now, we’re all OK.” The fire destroyed the home and much of its contents, leaving family, friends and local churches rushing to help Tuesday. An Illinois State Fire Marshal representative visited the site Tuesday as authorities investigated the cause of the fire, but they suspect the home was struck by lightning during the second wave of storms that blew through DeKalb County on Monday. If lightning is to blame, the destroyed home would be the area’s most significant storm damage.
See CLEANUP, page A8
See IRAQ, page A8
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