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Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com
Melissa Hudson
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Monday, May 20, 2013
KISHWAUKEE GRADS • LOCAL NEWS, A2
GIRLS STATE TRACK • SPORTS, B1
Graduates reflect on journeys through college
DeKalb’s Brown wins triple jump, takes third in long jump
Lions Park may be granted face-lift By DAVID THOMAS
If you go
dthomas@shawmedia.com
n What: Meeting about Lion Parks grant renovations n When: 6:30 p.m. today n Where: Lions Park Shelter, Lions Park, 700 W. Taylor St., DeKalb
DeKALB – Lions Park, located along Taylor Street near River Heights Golf Course, could be getting a face-lift in the near future. The DeKalb Park District will present schematics
of proposed amenities that could be installed at the park during a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. today. The meeting will be held at the Lions Park Shelter at 700 W. Taylor St. “Lions Park has a very old playground,” said Cindy Capek, the park district’s executive director. “The plan is to
replace the playground and renovate the shelter.” Any renovation of Lions Park is dependent on whether the park district can secure an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The grant provides
funding to local governments that are looking to acquire and/or development land for public parks. Capek said the grant is worth $400,000, with the state contributing half that amount and the park district matching it. The grant application is due July 1, with the
55 depart from Indian Creek
recipients announced in 2014. Capek said she’s optimistic and hopeful the park district will receive a grant, and said the park district would not be able to do these kinds of renovations without the grant.
See PARK, page A4
State workers getting anxious Lawmakers still debate pensions By REGINA GARCIA CANO The Associated Press
Photos by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Ellen Witte laughs while practicing her entrance into the gymnasium before Indian Creek’s commencement Sunday in Shabbona.
Graduates: Moment is bittersweet, exciting at same time By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com SHABBONA – Graduating from Indian Creek High School is a bittersweet moment for Alanah Wiesler. On the one hand, she’s looking forward to studying occupational therapy at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Neb. She said her career choice will allow her to make a difference in people’s lives. But she will also be saying goodbye to friends she has known her whole life. “I’ve been with some of these kids since kindergarten,” Wiesler said. “It’s going to be tough to leave them.” The Class of 2013 at Indian Creek High School, adorned in red and black robes, entered the gymnasium Sunday as students and walked out as graduates. Indian Creek Principal Sarah Montgomery noted how close the 55 seniors were to each other, and the positive impacts they had on their lives. “They are a really good group of kids, and I mean that,” Montgomery said. This year’s class had one valedictorian – Khloe Gordon – and four salutatorians – Dallas Boehne, Alexandria Corriveau,
(From left to right) Aaron Bolton, Carlos Sanchez and Jake Gullstrand gather outside the gymnasium before their graduation ceremony Sunday at Indian Creek High School in Shabbona. Kathryn Thuestad and Ellen Witte. Montgomery said Gordon had done really well in some Advanced Placement courses, giving her a grade-point average of 4.04. The salutatorians had 4.0
GPAs, and addressed the audience of parents, family members and faculty along with Gordon. Thuestad said she used John Wooden, a renowned NCAA basketball coach, as the basis for her speech. Thuestad said Wooden
taught his players it was OK to make mistakes if they learned from them. “It will help us succeed in the future,” Thuestad said.
See GRADS, page A4
SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois agency manager might have to delay retirement. A former university secretary wonders whether she’ll have to cancel vacations. A state office assistant fears he won’t be able to afford the medical care his wife needs. Anxiety and anger are growing among state employees and retirees who wonder what will happen to their pocketbooks if lawmakers make expected changes to the state’s pension systems that could require workers to pay even more toward retirement, increase the retirement age and cut annual increases in benefits. Workers spent their careers paying into their pension funds what the law told them to pay while, for decades, Legislatures and governors shorted and even skipped the state’s required payments. Now the General Assembly is scrambling to solve a Goliath-size fiscal problem: a $97 billion shortfall in the money needed to cover promised payouts to current and former employees who belong to five state pension systems, including public school teachers, judges and legislators themselves. “It’s legalized robbery,” said Paul Morton, an office assistant for the Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services who fears he won’t be able to afford his health care costs if his pension is significantly reduced or if he’s forced to drop his health insurance. Morton, 47, says his wife has diabetes, and he estimates half of his annual retirement would have to go toward insurance costs – a benefit the state had promised to fully fund after 20 years of service. Two proposals, each sponsored by the head of each chamber, are competing for votes among lawmakers who want a deal before the Legislature adjourns May 31. A plan sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton gives workers and retirees a choice of benefit packages, including the option of forgoing health insurance in retirement in exchange for 3 percent cost-of-living increases compounded annually.
See PENSION, page A4
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