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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
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Groce announces candidacy for mayor
Growing bills
Three now seeking to replace Kris Povlsen By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com
Jennifer Groce
At a glance Mayoral candidates must collect 239 to 383 signatures to appear on the ballot. The filing period for candidate petitions for all local offices is Dec. 17 to Dec. 24.
DeKALB – The former executive director of Re:New DeKalb is the third candidate to announce running for DeKalb’s mayor. Jennifer Groce, a research associate at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Governmental Studies, will run against John Rey, a retired Ag/Monsanto employee, and Mike Verbic, a member of the DeKalb School District 428 Board. Groce said her work as NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies would complement the work and knowledge the mayor of a city is expected to have. She said she would work toward enhancing partnerships between the city of DeKalb and other agencies, including NIU. “What is our place in the region, and how can we harness those resources for our community?” Groce said. Groce noted that both the city and university are undergoing leadership changes in 2013. Mayor Kris Povlsen said he will not run for re-election in April, and NIU President John Peters said he will step down in June. The changes, she said, allow for deeper collaboration between the two. “I see an important opportunity to enhance the community/university partnership to facilitate mutually beneficial outcomes that will move our city and our campus forward,” Groce said. “We have shared economic development interests and should work closely to develop shared goals and strategies to achieve them” Groce previously served as the executive director of Re:New DeKalb, a not-forprofit organization that has focused on the economic
See MAYOR, page A6
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Ryan Newman, meat manager at Brown’s Country Market, stocks one of the cases Monday in Sycamore.
Food prices could increase up to 4 percent next year By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Kyna Starks expects to take more trips to Save-A-Lot this summer. The out-of-town grocery store is Starks’ go-to establishment when her budget is tight, and it is going to be tighter if a recent forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture holds true. Food prices are expected to increase 3 percent to 4 percent in 2013 with meats, fresh vegetables and dairy products accounting for the biggest jump in cost. The expected price bump is coming off a year in which meat prices increased as much as 5.5 percent from 2011, while fruit and vegetable prices fell 2 percent. Starks, who spends about $400 a month on food for herself and daughter, said summer months already are more difficult, as she cares for five children during the day. Any increase in food prices would mean giving up the rare times she goes out to eat. “Four hundred dollars is a lot for me now,” Starks said. “I can already see the prices starting to go up with the fruits and produce.” The looming increase is a result of the drought that plagued most of the country during the summer and is continuing in some areas. Local
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
David Johnson puts stickers advertising the Brown’s Country Market meat department’s five for $19.99 mix or match deal on cube steaks. farmers such as Carl Heide, who raises hogs, said higher food prices that have yet to be passed on to the consumer have been absorbed by farmers. The cost to feed the hogs has increased, Heide said, forcing him to become more selective with the animals he breeds for market. Some farmers had to trim their herds, he said, because it was too expensive to feed and raise a large number of hogs. Ham prices are expect-
ed to increase 4 percent next year. “We tightened the screws on how we fed our animals,” Heide said. “When supplies get tighter, prices go up.” Angelo Tsagalis, owner of Sycamore Parkway Restaurant, said increases in food prices are nothing new for those in the industry, but consecutive years of 4 percent increases are a drastic change from the 0.8 percent bump in 2010.
Instead of raising prices on the menu, Tsagalis said he has compensated for the increases by eliminating some specialty items such as certain steak and fish selections he no longer can afford to offer. “The last resort we use is to raise prices, but if it gets to a certain point that we have to then we will,” Tsagalis said of the increase. “But people who come here aren’t looking to
See PRICES, page A6
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Some GOP lawmakers now flout anti-tax activist Norquist By PHILIP ELLIOTT The Associated Press WASHINGTON – For decades, conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist vowed to drive Republicans out of office if they didn’t pledge to oppose tax increases. Many lawmakers signed on. But now, several senior Republicans are breaking ranks, willing to consider raising more money through taxes as part of a deal with Democrats to avoid a catastrophic budget meltdown. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker says the only pledge he will keep is his oath of of-
fice. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said no one in his home state of Virginia is talking about what leaders in Washington refer to simply as “The Pledge,” a Norquist invention that dates to 1986. Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss said he cares more about his country than sticking to Norquist’s pledge. It’s quite an about-face for senior members of a party that long has stood firmly against almost any notion of tax increases. And while GOP leaders insist they still don’t want to see taxes go up, the reality of a nation in a debt crisis is forcing some to
moderate their opposition to any movement on how much Americans pay to fund their government. Republican legislators and Democratic President Barack Obama’s White House are haggling vigorously as they look for ways to reach agreement on detailed tax adjustments and spending cuts before automatic, bluntforce changes occur at the new year. “Oh, I signed it,” Sen. Jeff Sessions said on Fox News about Norquist’s pledge. “But we’ve got to deal with the crisis we face. We’ve got to deal with the political reality of the president’s victory.”
The naysaying about the pledge is raising the question of whether Norquist – a littleknown Republican outside of Washington – is losing his position of power within the GOP. It’s a notion that he calls ridiculous. “The fantasy is that the Republicans would cave on marginal tax rates,” Norquist said recently. “They’re nonnegotiable.” At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that the shifting away from Norquist signaled an opportunity for Republicans to work
See NORQUIST, page A6
AP file photo
For decades, anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist vowed to drive Republicans out of office if they didn’t pledge to oppose tax increases.
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