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Oc t o ber 29, 2015 • $ 1 .0 0
DAILY CHRONICLE
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Bingo plan has yet to resurface County officials in dark about Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s gaming center By RHONDA GILLESPIE rgillespie@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb County officials said there has been no movement on plans to bring a 24-hour electronic bingo center to Shabbona since the County Board decided in August not to vote on a resolution supporting the
plan. On August 19, the board removed from its agenda a resolution that called for the it to support the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in its efforts to get a federal land designation. The tribe wants the 129 acres of land it owns in DeKalb County – adjacent to Shabbona – held in trust. The
“land in trust” classification would allow the tribe to establish the gaming center. “As far as I know, that resolution ... is not coming back. The board, by not taking it up that night, put it off, probably permanently,” DeKalb County Administrator Gary Hanson said. But it remains unclear
how the board’s action will affect the tribe and its plans for as many as 800 bingo machines in the rural area. “I don’t think that was a critical letter for the tribe,” Hanson said. “I think it was something that they thought might be helpful, but I don’t think they saw it as detrimental not to have it.”
County Board member Tracy Jones, R-District 1, made the motion to remove the resolution from board consideration. The county’s seven-member economic development committee had voted to pass the resolution on to for the full board to approve. But Jones said the board needed to be educated
more on some jargon – especially the definition of “land in trust.” “The board doesn’t know what all it means,” said Jones. “There’s a lot more to putting your land in trust than I even know – and I know a little bit. But I need to be educated.”
See BINGO, page A5
Hastert pleads guilty, acknowledges hush money
NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL
By MICHAEL TARM The Associated Press
Photos by Mary Beth Nolan – mnolan@shawmedia.com
Kristina Trabert opens a beer for a customer attending Northern Illinois University’s homecoming game Oct. 24 at Huskie Stadium.
Benefiting from brews Beer sales at Huskie Stadium a success so far By JESSE SEVERSON jseverson@shawmedia.com DeKALB – So far, so good for beer sales at Huskie Stadium. Not only has the decision for Northern Illinois to sell beer in three locations during football games been profitable for the university, Cmdr. Don Rodman of NIU police has said there’s been a drop in alcohol incidents since the start of sales – which debuted in the second week of the season. “Looking at comparative years, we haven’t had any alcohol-related calls on the west side (of Huskie Stadium) – which is where the alcohol is being sold,” said Rodman, who has been with NIU police for
Voice your opinion Do you think alcohol sales should continue at Huskie Stadium? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com. 10 years. Rodman said they debrief and look at the numbers after every game and they have been pleased at the response. Both Rodman and Northern Illinois senior associate athletic director John Cheney believe that the drop is because fans are not binge drinking before heading into the stadium now that beer is available.
See BEER, page A5
Andy Frain Services employee Jim Colborn (right) gives a wristband to fan Bill Chase of Frankfort on Oct. 24 so he can purchase a beer before NIU’s homecoming game.
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Murderer Jack McCullough has more time for relief case / A3
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CHICAGO – Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to evading banking laws in a hush-money scheme, averting a potentially lurid trial that could have dredged up sexual allegations by agreeing to a deal with prosecutors that recommended he serve no more than six months in prison. In the written agreement, the Illinois Republican directly acknowledged for the first time that he sought to pay someone $3.5 million to hide misconduct by Hastert against that person dating back several decades, to around the time the longtime GOP leader was a high school wrestling coach. Before accepting the plea, the 73-year-old was warned by the judge that he could go beyond the recommendation and give Hastert up to five years behind bars when he is sentenced in Dennis February. Hastert Because the plea agreement has a sentencing range from no prison time to six months, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin also could decide to put Hastert on probation or home confinement. The plea helped seal the downfall of a man who rose from obscurity in rural Illinois to the nation’s third-highest political office. During his eight years as speaker, Hastert was second in the line of succession to the presidency. As he stepped to the lectern to answer a series of questions, he spoke in a voice so soft that the judge told him to speak up. The hearing revealed no new details about why Hastert agreed to pay the money. The indictment and the plea language both said the payments were meant to conceal past misconduct by Hastert, but neither document explained the nature of the wrongdoing. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported that the payments were meant to hide claims of sexual misconduct. At the half-hour hearing in Chicago, a subdued Hastert read from a brief statement that – like his indictment – focused narrowly on how he technically broke banking laws.
See HASTERT, page A5
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