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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
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DeKalb’s Jared Johnson
WILLIAM ‘BILLY’ CURL MURDER CASE
PAINFUL RESOLUTION
Polls open; questions answered By STEPHANIE HICKMAN
Election Central
shickman@shawmedia.com
Photos by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Korrine Huber (left) of South Elgin plays the guitar Monday as Annie Barson of Maple Park holds her music sheets while supporters of Antinette “Toni” Keller’s family organized a gathering in response to William “Billy” Curl’s plea agreement outside the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore.
Residents protest Curl plea outside courthouse By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Dylan Stephens cannot understand the pain Antinette “Toni” Keller’s family and friends are feeling, but he tried to offer a healing hand Monday. The Marengo resident brought his acoustic guitar to the front lawn of the DeKalb County Courthouse and played songs such as “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles and “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd as roughly 20 people gathered to honor Keller’s memory and peacefully protest the plea agreement reached in her murder case. William “Billy” Curl, 36, of DeKalb was sentenced to 37 years in prison last week for killing Keller, an 18-year-old college student from Plainfield. She was last seen Oct. 14, 2010, when she told friends she was going for a walk in Prairie Park. Her burned body was found in the park two days later. Stephens said DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack’s decision last week to support the plea agreement was comparable to a “timeout” and an injustice. He said he wanted to come to the gathering to show his support to the Keller family and help people in the healing process. “I can’t do much to ease the pain,
Voters across DeKalb County will cast ballots today in 221 contested races in the county’s cities, townships and districts. DeKalb County Clerk John Acardo said more than 1,400 voters – about 2 percent of all those registered – took advantage of early voting. He said he expects about 21 percent of the county’s 57,000 registered voters to cast their ballots by the end of election day. “As always, we hope that those numbers get shattered,” he said. Acardo said he often gets many different questions on election day, but the most common questions voters have are the following:
Am I registered? Citizens can find out whether they are registered to vote in their precinct through the Integra Election Reporting Console online at www. votedekalb.com. Voters can click the Election Day Voting tab and enter their name and birthdate when prompted to find out if they are a registered voter. If a voter is told their name is not on file at their polling place, they still have the opportunity to vote. Depending on the situation, Acardo said people can vote provisionally and pres-
For more on local races and candidates, visit elections.Daily-Chronicle.com.
Stay updated Follow our election night coverage online at Daily-Chronicle.com, Facebook and Twitter hashtag #DCelection. ent proof of registration to the county clerk’s office within three days for their vote to count. Voters also can call the county’s hotline number at 815-895-7147 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. if they have additional questions.
Where can I vote? All 90 precincts in DeKalb County have designated polling locations. Unlike with early voting, voters must vote at their assigned polling place today. If voters aren’t sure which precinct they live in or where their assigned facility is located, they can visit www.votedekalb.com, click on the Election Day Voting tab and enter their information through the Integra Election Reporting Console.
See ELECTION, page A5
DeKalb resident Darla Cook holds a sign she made while at a gathering that was held in response to last week’s plea agreement of William “Billy” Curl outside the DeKalb County Courthouse. but I can try,” he said. “Music always helps.” Thelma Holderness, who helped organize the event, said the plea deal was a painful resolution to the slaying of a girl whose family she has come to care for over the past two and a half years. Holderness was a janitor at Neptune Hall where Keller lived. “People want to voice their disapproval,” Holderness said. “I just pray for strength and peace for everybody in this.”
More online To see video from the protest, visit Daily-Chronicle.com. Many at Monday’s event did not know Keller or her family, but were concerned with the future of the local justice system. Erik Anderson for Shaw Media
See PROTEST, page A5
Election Judge Rene Donnelly transfers a voting machine Saturday to the DeKalb County Legislative Building from the Administration Building for today’s elections.
New Quaid, Efron flick set for DeKalb’s big screen in May By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com Bob Bacon spotted a familiar face in the trailer for the movie “At Any Price” – himself. “It was an experience,” Bacon, said. “I’ve never done it before, and that’s why I did it. It was pretty cool.” Bacon, his daughter, Brianna, and his grandson, Jacob Reiter, were some of the local residents cast as extras in “At Any Price,” the Ramin Bahrani movie that brought Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid to the area for filming in 2011.
Bacon was filmed shaking hands with actor Clancy Brown, and sitting in front of Efron and Quaid in another scene. DeKalb County officials are excited the movie, which will see a limited release April 24 in Los Angeles and New York, also will be shown in DeKalb at Carmike Market Square Cinema on May 10. “We’re excited for everybody because everyone has anticipated the release of this movie since 2011,” said Debbie Armstrong, executive director of the DeKalb County Conven-
tion and Visitors Bureau. Armstrong said they were working on a private event in anticipation of the movie’s DeKalb release, but nothing has been set. She did not know if Sony Pictures Classics plans to screen the film at other local theaters or how long the film’s run might be. Quaid plays a third-generation farmer who wants his son, played by Efron, to carry on the family business. The son, however, has aspirations of becoming a race car driver. Scenes for the movie were shot at Sycamore Speedway,
First Lutheran Church in DeKalb and rural spots around the county. Doug Nelson, a member of the bureau’s board of directors, said they helped the production crew find many shooting locations in the county, enough so they opened their office here. Scott Potter and his wife, Sarah, sat a couple of rows behind actress Heather Graham as the cast and extras sang the national anthem at Sycamore Speedway. Or at least that’s what happens in the movie. “We had to mime singing along to the national anthem,”
said Potter, adding the actors sang while listening to the song via an earpiece. “They were the only ones singing. We’re all miming along to their terrible singing.” The Illinois Film Office brought in $950,000 for the county, and $1.8 million for the state, Armstrong said. “Events like this really demonstrate the power of tourism, and what the industry ... contributes to the local economy and the state,” Armstrong said. Nelson said the movie was a win-win for the county.
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A2-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
If you go n What: “At Any Price” n When: May 10 n Where: Carmike Market
Square Cinema, DeKalb
Voice your opinion Will you see the movie “At Any Price” in the theater? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Weather A2, A4-5 A7 B1-5
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49