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Previewing Dixon, WHAT IT TAKES TO Erie-Prophetstown HOST A COUNTY FAIR LOCAL, A3 PREP FOOTBALL, B1
WEEKEND ENTERPRISE | BODY CAMERAS FOR POLICE
Law an ‘inappropriate burden’ Dixon chief says unfunded mandates could be financially crippling BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren Gov. Bruce Rauner Signed new law Wednesday that specifies how police should use body cameras and how video should be maintained.
DIXON – In February, Dixon Police Chief Danny Langloss spoke publicly and excitedly about his interest in obtaining body cameras for his officers. The only problems, he lamented, were the costs involved in purchasing them, and the state of Illinois’ eavesdropping law. The next day, the first of the two
problems was solved. An anonymous donor offered the $7,200 Langloss estimated it would cost to buy eight $900 body-worn cameras for his on-duty officers. He was halfway there, he thought. All he had to do now was to wait for the law to change to allow for audio- and videorecording of subjects. “As soon as those things are in place, we really want to move forward with it,” Langloss said in February.
When Gov. Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 1304 into law on Wednesday, he solved the second half of Langloss’ problem. Simultaneously, though, he made it almost impossible for the Dixon department, and many other departments throughout the state that had been eager to implement the cameras, to move for ward by imposing what Langloss described as financially crippling mandates. And, yes, the
new law allows for grants to buy the cameras, Langloss said, but that’s the least expensive part of the process. “The tracking and recording costs of [the law] are absolutely astronomical,” Langloss said. “To have people physically track the things that have to be tracked – they’re ridiculous. ... It’s going to take an incredible amount of work to do that.”
SUMMER STORMS AFTERMATH | NORTHLAND MALL
Dixon Police Chief Danny Langloss Says “the tracking and recording costs of [the law] are absolutely astronomical.”
BURDEN CONTINUED ON A4
DIY HOME
Make your own paint SVM correspondent Ashley Poskin writes about making chalk paint in her DIY Home feature. Page A8
DIXON POLICE
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Nancy Carrell, owner of Sports Zone at Northland Mall, used the 33 days the business was closed after a June 22 storm to update the store with fresh paint, new carpeting, and new arrangements of merchandise. All stores in the Sterling mall were closed after a storm ripped part of the roof off, caused a wall to collapse and ruptured a gas line. Sports Zone reopened July 27.
Silver lining to the storm clouds STERLING – On June 22, high winds ripped off part of Northland Mall’s roof and caused an eastside wall to collapse. A 2-inch gas line also ruptured, and the building filled with water and debris. The most immediate good news was that no one was injured, but mall management and its tenants were faced with a cleanup process that would bring business to a screeching halt. The unsettling part was the uncertainty – insurance adjusters
Mostly sunny
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 50 40 Pages
Today: 89/67 For the forecast, see Page A10
would visit, claims would be filed, and engineers and restoration teams would have to work their way through the mess. Dunham’s, a sporting goods retailer that had opened just 8 months earlier, was hit hardest. Store officials say the reopening there might not happen until next year. All but five of the 18 other stores have gradually reopened. While the loss of sales has been nerve-racking, especially for the mom-and-pop shops without corporate backing, many owners and managers have taken full advantage of the down time. MALL CONTINUED ON A8
Business
Got something dirty? New company plans to clean up Dixon and beyond. See Page C1
New treatment program set to begin Sept. 1 BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren
Mall businesses make good use of down time BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Addicts who seek help won’t be charged
Sports Zone now focuses more on sports merchandise after owner Nancy Carrell got rid of some old items she had carried before the focus veered into sports.
Community Runners at the Roy G. Biv Color Run got a hand from spectators, all right – hands full of colorful powder thrown at them as they ran the course. See Page C12
DIXON – On Friday morning, a 46-year-old mom in Dixon awoke to a house empty of sugar. Odd, she thought; she’d had some just the day before. Then, she realized her son had poured it into the already-sweet iced tea in the fridge. Sarah* is the mother of a heroin addict. Sugar mimics the properties found in opiates, explains Alison White, a recovering addict who works with Safe Harbor of Lee County to find help for other addicts and parents of addicts. White has been trying to get Sarah’s son into treatment for a couple of weeks. ADDICTS CONTINUED ON A5
Index Births................ C5
Lottery .............. A2
Business........... C1
Markets .......... A10
Classified .......... D1
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ............. B6
Opinion............. A6
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B7
Crossword Saturday ........... D5
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C1
Weather.......... A10
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ............. D8
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10