TUESDAY
September 29, 201 5 • $1 .0 0
TEEING OFF
DAILY CHRONICLE
DeKalb golf gets top four scores in rout of Sycamore / B1 HIGH
66 45 Complete forecast on page A10
daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
LOW
Facebook.com/dailychronicle
@dailychronicle
Fee proposal heard by committee Plan seeks to charge fire departments for utilizing countywide communication center By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – A new proposed communications fee would charge small-town and volunteer fire departments for utilizing the countywide communications center. The Sheriff’s Communications Fee Assessment Proposal, presented to the DeKalb County Law and Justice Committee for the second time
On the Web
ta, Paw Paw, Shabbona, Somonauk and Waterman fire departments a fee based on how To see a video many CAD (computer-aided from this meeting, dispatch) events are called in visit Daily-Chron- to the communications center. icle.com. Currently, only police departments in non-contract rural areas pay a fee for utilizing the communication center. Monday by Waterman Police “The expense of running Chief Chuck Breese, suggests it is getting to be a burden on charging Cortland, Hinckley, everybody,” Breese said. “We Kirkland, Lee, Leland, Mal- want the burden to be shared
by all the users of the communications center, not just the police. It should be the fire.” To meet $188,000, a number that would reflect an agreement previously made between the sheriff’s office and the rural areas from July 2016 to June 2017, Breese used the number of CAD events called to the communications center in 2014, which he said were indicative of traditional call-in numbers.
The Somonauk Fire Department had 497 calls, 3.8 percent of the 13,132 calls made last year, and would owe $188,000 if the agreement passed the County Board at a later date. The agreement increases to $195,000 from 2017 to 2018, and then $201,000 through April 2019, and would be contingent upon future amounts of calls made to the communications center. “The solution, to try to be
fair, is pay their amount of usage, based on the calls they receive,” Breese said. He said it was his idea to rally the small towns together to discuss options, since he first noticed Waterman would have a difficult time paying upcoming increases. A committee was formed as a result. Law and Justice Committee and County Board
See PROPOSAL, page A6
Plea deal possible in Hastert case
POLICE INVESTIGATE INCIDENT AT STEVENSON TOWERS
By MICHAEL TARM The Associated Press
Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Northern Illinois University student Oluwarotimi “Timi” Okedina, 19, died early Sunday morning after apparently falling out of an 11th floor window Saturday at Stevenson Towers.
NIU student falls to his death Campus officials remain tight-lipped about circumstances Resources available
By RHONDA GILLESPIE rgillespie@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Northern Illinois University officials remained tight-lipped about what happened Saturday night when a 19-yearold student fell to his death from the school’s Stevenson Towers dormitory. “The NIU police are awaiting results of the cause of death investigation being performed by the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office,” NIU Police Chief Thomas Phillips said in a written statement issued Monday afternoon. Coroner Dennis Miller identified the student as Oluwarotimi Okedina. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday on the second-year student who others described as “outgoing” and “energetic.” Police were called to the 12-story Stevenson Towers C – one of four that make up the complex at the south end of the university’s student housing area – around 10 p.m. The student was found on the ground after falling from the 11th floor of the building, NIU spokes-
The university’s counseling and consultation services staff has been meeting with students and staff, and the staff is available to any members of the university family who may be in need of services. Counseling and Consultation Services is located in Campus Life Building 200. The office can be reached by phone at 815-753-1206 and is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Stevenson Towers is seen Monday in DeKalb. Police continue to investigate the death of Oluwarotimi “Timi” Okedina, 19, who apparently fell out of an 11th floor window. man Joe King said. He was taken to Kishwaukee Hospital where he was pronounced dead, King said. King said it remains unclear how Okedina fell. But King confirmed Okedina was not assigned to that building or the room from
Chester Buford, 19, said he lives on the eighth floor of the tower where the incident happened. which he fell. The student’s relatives were The sophomore sociology major called immediately and went to said other students sent Snapchat the hospital. and Instagram posts about what “They were on campus the happened. next day,” King said. “It was crazy,” Buford said. Social media swirled with news of Okedina’s death. See STEVENSON, page A6
MARKETPLACE
LOCAL NEWS
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Family-friendly
Sentenced
Approval
Genoa restaurant brings big flavor to small town / A8
Dealer gets 11 years in heroin overdose death of Malta man / A4
7th Ward alderman resigns; council OKs funds for theater / A3
Advice ................................ B4 Classified....................... B6-8 Comics ............................... B5 Local News.................... A3-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World...........A2, 5-6
CHICAGO – A possible plea agreement is being negotiated in the hush-money case of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, attorneys told a judge Monday, meaning potentially embarrassing details about the underlying actions in the case may never be divulged in court or anywhere else. Hastert, who led the U.S. House for nine years, has pleaded not guilty to charges the Republican skirted federal banking laws in an attempt to pay someone $3.5 million to hide claims of past misconduct. An indictment handed down in May alleges that Hastert agreed to pay the money to a person identified only as “Individual A” and offers no details about the alleged misconduct. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported the payments were intended to conceal claims of sexual misconduct decades ago. The disclosure about talks on a plea agreement came during a pretrial hearing in Chicago and af- Dennis ter U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Hastert Durkin asked both sides to explain why they have repeatedly asked for more time for pretrial motions. Prosecutors and defense attorneys – who have taken steps to keep information not in the indictment secret – confirmed to the judge that they were in talks, but they offered no details. Legal experts said Hastert, who did not attend the hearing, has a strong incentive to reach a plea agreement and avoid trial. They said prosecutors would likely want to provide jurors at trial with at least some information about the underlying allegations that aren’t detailed in the indictment. “That’s the sword they have hanging over his head,” said Andrew Herman, a prominent Washington-based attorney who has represented clients targeted by ethics investigations in Congress. Jeff Cramer, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, added: “If you spent millions to keep a secret, then the last thing you want is for the secret to come out in open court.” Herman also said prosecutors have an incentive to reach agreement because their case is “not a slam dunk.” “This case is a classic case where it is in everybody’s interest to reach a plea,” he said. The identity of “Individual A” is among the details not in the Hastert indictment. While prosecutors may not be inclined to reveal that person’s identity at a trial, jurors may want an explanation for why Hastert allegedly withdrew so much money and felt motivated to lie about it. Authorities allege that Hastert structured cash withdrawals in increments of just under $10,000 in an attempt to avoid financial reporting rules, and when questioned by the FBI, said he was taking the money out because he didn’t trust banks. Investigators have said Hastert withdrew about $1.7 million of the amount he allegedly agreed to pay.
See HASTERT, page A6
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A9 Puzzles ............................... B4 Sports..............................B1-3 State .............................. A2, 4 Weather ........................... A10