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Saturday-Sunday, June 1-2, 2013
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St. Mary’s Church breaks ground on new faith center
Challenge of civilian life Services exist to help ‘new veterans’ who leave the ranks
Training day at Small’s building DeKalb firefighters use former furniture store before its demolition By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Steve Kreitzer is a veteran service officer with the DeKalb County Veterans Assistance Commission. Kreitzer, seen outside the DCVAC on Wednesday, counsels veterans on benefits they are entitled to. Kreitzer, who served in Iraq, was enlisted in the Army from March 2004 to June 2008 and also served one year in the reserves in 2010. By DAVID THOMAS
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dthomas@shawmedia.com Every veteran has a different story and needs, but Steve Kreitzer is here to help. A veteran service officer with the DeKalb County Veterans Assistance Commission and an Army veteran, Kreitzer said he knows how important – and daunting – the transition from military to civilian life can be. “You’re in charge of so much, you’re doing so much every single day,” Kreitzer said. “And then you get back and it’s like none of those skills are useful, or you don’t feel like they are. You go from this feeling of importance to feeling insignificant in the world.”
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There are an estimated 76,000 “new veterans” living in Illinois, according to the Social IMPACT Research Center at Heartland Alliance. The research center works with governments and nonprofit organizations on issues such as veterans and poverty. New veterans are defined as people who enlisted in the military after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They tend to be white men, but the re-
search center notes women make up 17 percent of this group. Paul Villanueva is also a new veteran, sort of. The 42-year-old Genoa resident served in the Navy from 1988 to 1992 before re-enlisting in 2003. Villanueva was discharged again in 2013. For good, he said. Villanueva initially joined the Navy to escape poverty. During his first stint, he worked as an aviation firefighter, rescuing pilots from their jets if they caught fire. But working in the private sector left him unsatisfied. “I wanted a feeling of doing something more than making money,” Villanueva said.
See VETERANS, page A6
Ill. Legislature fails to reach pension deal By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers failed again Friday to fix the state’s nearly $100 billion pension crisis – inaction that will put increasing pressure on the state’s already disastrous financial situation. Gov. Pat Quinn and legislators had said addressing the nation’s worst state-pension problem was their top priority in the 2013 session. But the Democratic-controlled House and Senate passed rival proposals – each backed by their chamber’s leader – and were unable to agree on how to move forward. Late Friday – the last day of
the legislative session – a spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton said the Senate wouldn’t take any more pension votes, leaving it up to the House to pass reform before the session’s midnight deadline. About an hour later, the House adjourned without a pension vote. Both Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan pledged to continue working toward an agreement. “I don’t think we should take a lack of success today as a reason to give up,” Madigan said. Leaving town without a resolution means soaring pension payments will continue to squeeze Illinois’ budget. The inaction also
More inside • Bill that allows concealed carry goes to Quinn. PAGE A4 • A roundup of legislative action. PAGE A4 could prompt credit rating agencies to further downgrade the state’s credit rating, which already is the lowest of any state in the U.S. The failure also could pose political problems for Quinn – who has said he was “put on earth” to solve the pension problem – as the Chicago Democrat eyes a re-election bid. Illinois’ five public employee retirement systems are about $97
billion short of what’s needed to pay benefits as currently promised, largely because lawmakers skipped or shorted their payments for years. The full annual payment in 2014 will be about $6 billion – nearly one-fifth of the state’s general revenue fund. If the Legislature doesn’t take action by 2016, the governor’s office estimates the state’s pension payment will be larger than the amount spent on education. For years, lawmakers have been unsuccessful in solving the growing problem, even as other states have approved legislation to deal with their own crises.
See PENSION, page A4
DeKALB – There was no emergency Friday at the former Small’s Furniture building. But DeKalb firefighters were at 2211 Sycamore Road preparing for one of the toughest calls they could face: Rescuing fellow firefighters who became trapped while helping people in a burning building. “When firefighters go into a fire, we try to have a reserve company there specifically to rescue the firefighters,” Assistant Fire Chief Jeff McMaster said. “That takes specialized training other than rescuing civilians, and it also takes different types of equipment.” Local developer John Pappas and his contractors are in the process of More online demolishing the 16,000-square-foot Go to Daily-Chronibuilding to construct cle.com to see video a 12,950-square-foot of the DeKalb Fire restaurant or retail Department practiccenter. He expects ing a rescue drill. most of the building will be removed by Tuesday or Wednesday, but Pappas was happy to let firefighters use the space Friday for specialized training. “They don’t get an opportunity like that unless it’s a real fire,” said Pappas, who owns Pappas Development. “It helps them out, and I’m glad I was able to help out.” The DeKalb City Council on Monday approved a $423,900 tax increment finance loan to Pappas Development to rehab and redevelop the site. The project is expected to cost $4.2 million, and the city expects to recoup the $423,900 over 7 years through new sales- and property-tax revenue. A company of two to four firefighters practiced finding and rescuing another company of firefighters who pretended to be trapped. The rescue could involve refilling the air tanks of troubled firefighters or “buddy breathing” by coupling their air tanks.
See SMALL’S, page A6
John Sahly – jsahly@shawmedia.com
Members of the DeKalb Fire Department practice a rescue drill Friday at the Small’s Furniture building in DeKalb. The store is set for demolition next week, and the fire department took advantage of the empty building to run training drills.
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