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Wednesday, August 13, 2014
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DeKalb mulls street repair funding City’s options include sales tax increase as TIF districts near end However, one of the city’s TIF districts expires in 2018, while the other will expire in 2020, meaning the only DeKALB – The city’s streets could source of funding left will be the local need $33 million in repairs over the gas tax. next five years, but a key funding In turn, DeKalb’s leaders are asksource for the work will dry up by the ing the finance advisory committee end of the decade. to discuss available options well in That has city leaders consider- advance of next year’s budget talks ing options including increasing the and the TIF districts’ expiration. The sales tax to generate more revenue. committee will meet monthly and Of the $1.5 million the city plans work with the City Council to find a to spend on streets this year, $1 mil- solution. lion comes from the city’s two tax “Our goal is to look at this holisincrement financing districts. TIF tically,” City Manager Anne Marie districts allow the city to divert prop- Gaura said during the DeKalb City erty tax money into a special account Council’s committee of the whole that is used to rehabilitate blighted meeting Monday. “Our goal is to say areas. ‘everything is on the table,’ including
whether the finance advisory comBy the numbers mittee wants to look at [and] the City Council would be open to utilizing the sales tax as a dedicated revenue to fund capital projects.” Percentage of city streets that are “failing” Based on the data already available, streets in the TIF districts alone will need nearly $8 million in repairs Percentage of city streets in “pre-failing” over the next five years to stay in good condition, City Engineer John condition Laskowski said. The Central Area TIF district covers downtown DeKalb and Sycamore Percentage of city streets in satisfactory Road, while a second TIF district condition that includes a portion of the city between Lincoln Highway and Taylor Street.
FIT TO HIT BACK
Local women improve their fitness, confidence with self-defense classes
By KATIE DAHLSTROM
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
27 45
Amount of street repairs funded with TIF money
28
Estimated cost of needed street repairs for the next five years
$1.5 million Amount budgeted for street repair this
See FUNDING, page A6
$1 million $33 million $6.6 million Estimated annual cost of street repairs
Source: City of DeKalb
fiscal year
Attorney: Plea deals near in NIU hazing case By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: Katherine Hryniewicki (right) of Sycamore kicks a bag held by Victor Perez during a class Tuesday at Bill Cho’s United Taekwondo Center in Sycamore. Five women in the class had a black belt or higher rank. BELOW: Dana Miller of DeKalb yells after a punch combination during a class at Bill Cho’s United Taekwondo Center. By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com
D
eKALB – Before DeKalb resident Kim Rodr-Luzzi began taking a kickboxing class in DeKalb, she used to walk with her keys tucked between her knuckles. Instead of planning to use her keys in self defense, Rodr-Luzzi now is trained to throw jabs, hooks, uppercuts and even a roundhouse kick to ward off would-be attackers. The substitute teacher said she now feels she can better protect herself because she regularly attends a women’s kickboxing class at United Elite Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness, 1600 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb. “There are things I can do now, like hang upside down from a punching bag and do sit-ups,” Rodr-Luzzi said. “My body has changed quite a bit.” Many women are taking classes at local fitness centers to learn about self-defense. Some students said they initially joined for the exercise, but are now learning more about how to
protect themselves. At United Elite, up to 35 women attend a women’s kickboxing class, owner Erick Villamar said. This is considerably higher than the three to five women who enrolled in the class three years ago when the MMA facility first opened, he said.
The kickboxing class helps women improve their fitness and defensive skills, including how to throw a punch, block punches and how to protect yourself when you are being attacked, Villamar said. “If you’re already in shape, it will make you stronger,” Villamar said.
“Also for the self-defense aspect, most women who have been with us can punch, slip out of the way and punch you two or three times before you can even react.” Rodr-Luzzi already has had a chance to use some of her skills. While substitute teaching in April at a local middle school, she said she broke up a fight between a couple of students who were pushing each other. With help from four others who dispersed the crowd, Rodr-Luzzi put her arm between the two students to get them to stop. “I broke them up rather quickly,” she said. “Before taking kickboxing, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing that.” Other women taking self-defense classes have not had to use their skills yet. DeKalb resident Dana Miller is a second degree black belt at Bill Cho’s United Taekwondo Center, 1598 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore. She enrolled at the center shortly after it opened in 2008 to keep in shape.
SYCAMORE – The parents of a Northern Illinois University freshman who died in a fraternity house almost two years ago are unsure whether they will come to court if the 22 men accused of hazing ultimately accept plea agreements. Attorney Peter Coladarci, who represents the family of David Bogenberger, said his clients have not yet learned enough about the potential plea agreements to determine if they support them. David If plea agreements that the family sup- Bogenberger ports ultimately are entered, Bogenberger’s family may travel from Florida to attend the court dates. “They may not want to appear to endorse it if they are uncomfortable with the terms,” Coladarci said. Bogenberger, a 19-year-old Palatine High School graduate, died at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house with a blood-alcohol content of 0.351 percent after an unsanctioned party at which fraternity members and other guests ordered the pledges to drink vodka, authorities have said. Bogenberger and 18 other pledges drank alcohol for about two hours while playing a game in which they were assigned “moms” and “dads” whose identities they were supposed to guess, authorities have said. Five fraternity members face felony hazing charges in connection with the November 2012 death, while 17 others face misdemeanor hazing charges. Defense attorney Peter Gruber, who represents former Pi Kappa Alpha chapter secretary Patrick W. Merrill, 21, now of Boston, said attorneys are trying to arrange for all 22 criminal cases to be resolved on the same day. Gruber, defense attorney Mike Krejci, and DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack declined to provide details of the proposed plea agreements. In May, DeKalb County Judge John McAdams rejected claims that the Illinois hazing statute is unconstitutional in four of the five felony cases.
See SELF-DEFENSE, page A6
See HAZING, page A6
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