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Rifkin sues NIU, police department
Ex-university officer alleges conspiracy against him in sex assault By JEFF ENGELHARDT
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Former Northern Illinois University police officer Andrew Rifkin filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the university and a group of officers he claims conspired against him in a sexual assault case. Rifkin is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and legal fees
from the NIU Board of Trustees and NIU police officers Donald Grady, Kartik Ramakrishnan, Jason John and RaMon Holland. Bill Nicklas, NIU’s Andrew Rifkin director of public safety, said the department would review the lawsuit and deter-
mine if action is necessary. “We will take that seriously,” Nicklas said of the claims against officers. “There will be an appropriate response.” Rifkin, 25, was charged in October 2011 with sexually assaulting a female student with whom he had a relationship while he was a member of the NIU police force. On Oct. 28, 2011, the woman contacted NIU police to re-
More online Read the lawsuit online at dailychronicle.com. port the alleged rape, which she said took place Oct. 14, 2011, in Rifkin’s Cortland apartment. Rifkin was fired a few days later; he had been hired
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June 17, 2011, and graduated from the police academy Sept. 23, 2011. On Nov. 3, 2011, two other NIU students went to the NIU police station, where they gave signed, written statements to NIU police, in which they said the victim in the case had discussed her ongoing consensual relationship with Rifkin and said no assault occurred.
See RIFKIN, page A5
District 428 board given proposals to cut costs By DAVID THOMAS
dthomas@shawmedia.com
DeKalb Park District board members meet Jan. 16 at Hopkins Park in DeKalb. DeKalb is preparing for the April 9 election.
special fund that is used to renovate a blighted area. Rey, Groce and Verbic each expressed support for the idea of using tax increment financing to rehabilitate the city’s blighted areas, although Groce said she wanted to see how they would impact other taxing bodies that would have to forgo the revenue. Jacobson could not be reached for comment. A message on his voicemail said he is traveling outside the country until Sunday. In the past, he has been critical of how the city has used tax increment funds.
DeKALB – By 2015, students in DeKalb schools could attend junior high schools instead of middle schools, and a specific center for prekindergarten and early childhood learning could be created. In a report to the DeKalb School District 428 board, the district’s finance and facilities advisory committee put forward those ideas as possible cost savers that could enhance education. Disregarded by the committee, and thus by the board, was the idea of changing the district’s grade configuration, or attendance boundaries. “I think the board agrees with the recommendations from the [committee] on having no [changes to] grade configurations,” said board President Tom Matya, adding that more research on switching to a junior Tom Matya high system and an early childhood center needed to be done. The recommendations were neither final, nor binding. Committee chairwoman Kathy Watkins said they still are researching the recommendations. The committee was charged by the board to find ways to save the school district money but keep the quality of education the same. The district entered the 2012-2013 school year with a $2.3 million deficit. The committee made five recommendations to the board. It advised against changing the current grade configuration in the schools. Any configuration, Watkins said, would not enhance the quality of education nor would it save money. “The district has experienced a number of changes in recent years,” Watkins said. “Many in the community have stated they desire a period of educational stability.”
See ELECTION, page A5
See D-428 BOARD, page A5
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Spring election season under way By DAVID THOMAS
dthomas@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – Jennifer Groce believes DeKalb’s time for great change is now. “There is no better time. ... This is our moment,” said Groce, a candidate for DeKalb mayor. “We need to take full advantage of that. We must embrace that we are a university community and that has great opportunities.” Groce, the former head of Re:New DeKalb, will face off against School District 428 board member Mike Verbic, former DeKalb Ag/Monsanto employee John Rey, and 1st Ward
Alderman David Jacobson in a fourway race for mayor. Each of the candidates has expressed similar campaign platforms: a greater emphasis on public safety, more economic development in the city, and a stronger partnership with Northern Illinois University. The mayoral race is one of six contested races DeKalb voters will decide on April 9. With no challenges filed against any petition, the ballot for the DeKalb City Council, the DeKalb Park District and DeKalb School District 428 appear to be set. The ballot for all local races will be finalized Jan. 31. The new mayor, along with two
Voice your opinion What is the biggest issue facing DeKalb? Let us know at daily-chronicle.com.
More inside See a list of candidates on page A5. new aldermen, will be able to weigh in on the creation of new tax increment financing districts. These districts divert money from local governments like school districts to a
GOP moves to delay debt-ceiling showdown By ANDREW TAYLOR The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Seeking to regain their budget footing versus President Barack Obama, Republicans controlling the House are moving quickly to try to defuse a potential debt crisis with legislation to prevent a first-ever U.S. default for at least three months. The Republicans are giving up for now on trying to extract spending cuts
from Democrats in return for an increase in the government’s borrowing cap. But the respite promises to be only temporary, with the stage still set for major battles between the Republicans and Obama over taxes, spending and deficits. The first step comes today with a House vote on GOP-sponsored legislation that would give the government enough borrowing leeway to meet three months’ worth of obligations,
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delaying a showdown next month that Republicans fear they would lose. While it’s commonly assumed that the Treasury Department wouldn’t allow a disastrous default on U.S. Treasury notes, the prospect of failing to meet other U.S. obligations such as payments to contractors, unemployment AP file photo benefits and Social Security checks House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders are scrambling for also would be reputation shattering.
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votes on a stopgap debt-limit measure that would let the government keep borrowing until at least mid-May.
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