75 cents
Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Monday, June 3, 2013
ST. BALDRICK’S • LOCAL, A3
WRITER’S YARN • LOCAL, A3
Volunteers take a lot off the top for charity
Authors fair features DeKalb County talent
Joe Lamancuso (left) and Kerry Lilly
Area teens try to make summer work
Legislative inaction may hurt Quinn By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Hopkins Pool lifeguards Elise Pollack (left) and Lindsey Blakley (right) practice a backboarding drill on fellow lifeguard Mike Lee during a recertification process Thursday at Hopkins Pool in DeKalb.
Youth discover a tough market this season By STEPHANIE HICKMAN shickman@shawmedia.com Becoming a lifeguard was a natural choice for Bridgette Edmeier. Although the recent Hinckley-Big Rock graduate grew up swimming, she was nervous about an interview to become a lifeguard with the DeKalb Park District four years ago. But she landed the job and has been developing her career-building skills since. “I’ve definitely learned responsibility,” she said. “I think this will help me in any job I go into.” Edmeier is among about 70 young Hopkins Pool staff members who range in age
‘‘
from 16 to 23. Park districts are common employers of local teenagers for summer work, which has become a challenge finding in recent years. Greg Rivara, communications manager at the Illinois Department of Employment Security, said it’s a good idea for teens to treat summer jobs as a training course for the professional workforce. “In that age group, the value of a summer job rests in the experience that comes from that job, and not the paycheck,” he said. “The value gained understanding how to work with others will far exceed any paycheck.” Sarah Fraker, a recent Northern Illinois University graduate and a manager
at Hopkins Pool, said she has learned important skills such as dedication, teamwork and accountability by working with her supervisor, Scott deOliveira. “It’s a fun job, but we really drive home the point that it needs to be taken seriously,” deOliveira said. Rivara encourages parents and teens to look at the summer job experience in a different way. There are ideal jobs where teens can earn wages, but volunteer work and unpaid internships can be just as valuable, he said. Teens benefit by working in positions that are relevant to career paths they might want to follow.
See TEENS, page A4
In that age group, the value of a summer job rests in the experience that comes from that job, and not the paycheck. The value gained understanding how to work with others will far exceed any paycheck. Greg Rivara, communications manager at the Illinois Department of Employment Security
CHICAGO – Coming off a spring session in which all of his top legislative priorities failed, Gov. Pat Quinn finds himself politically vulnerable and facing another trial: fending off the string of potential candidates who want to unseat him in 2014. Quinn needed a win on some of the major issues he told reporters were atop his priority list: fixing Illinois’ $97 billion pension problem, legalizing same-sex marriage and approving a gun control measure restricting high-capacity ammunition magazines. But lawmakers adjourned for the session Friday without sending any of those measures to his desk. Political analyst Don Rose said it’s hard to say whether the Chicago Democrat’s approval ratings – already some of the lowest of any governor in the country – can sink any further as a result. But even if voters don’t blame Quinn for the Legislature’s failure to act, it was a missed opportunity. “He needed something to give him a boost,” Rose said. “There are just too many things that didn’t happen. Even though it’s not his fault, he sort of loses all around.” Quinn’s would-be replacements began lining up Sunday, as Republican state Treasurer Dan Rutherford officially launched his campaign. Republican State Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard and venture capitalist Bruce Rauner also have expressed interest. Former White House chief of staff Bill Daley and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also have said they are considering challenging Quinn in a Democratic primary. Several of the potential candidates have indicated they were waiting for the session to end before getting into the race, so they could see what achievements Quinn might have to tout on the campaign trail. But the Democratic-controlled Legislature didn’t give him much to brag about.
Gov. Pat Quinn
Inside Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford officially announced Sunday that he is seeking the Republican nomination in the 2014 governor’s race. PAGE A4
Dan Rutherford lllinois treasurer
See QUINN, page A4
Long winter, floods said to have local geese crying fowl By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The Canada geese are in a bad mood this summer. David Bythewood would know. Bythewood works as a volunteer for Oaken Acres Wildlife Center in Sycamore and has observed the geese and other birds for the past 10 to 15 years. On Thursday, he was walking by an area he didn’t know was a nest and was attacked by a goose. It was the first time it happened in the years he’s watched them, but he understands why they’re more on edge this season. The summer is nesting season for
Voice your opinion Does the local goose population bother you? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
waterfowl, and they’ve been delayed this year by a long winter followed by floods that washed out their nests. “The weather has affected them badly and a lot of them are getting a late start,” Bythewood said. As a result, they’ve become more protective of their territories and goslings. They’re usually territorial and aggressive when they are nesting because they are picking
mates they will have for life, he said. He doesn’t hold a grudge against the goose that attacked him, but geese may hold a grudge if people don’t stand their ground. He said people should raise their arms to protect themselves should a goose launch an airborne attack. He recommended dealing with aggressive geese by maintaining eye contact. “If you actually stand up to them – you don’t want to chase them – they will back down some,” Bythewood said. If people take their eyes off the geese, that signals they’re fleeing and encourages geese to give chase, he said. Geese
chase people who turn their backs because it’s part of how they interact. “The goose that turns is the one that gets chased,” Bythewood said. T. J. Moore, director of DeKalb Public Works, said his department has not received complaints about the geese in DeKalb. He said geese gather at any place there is water because they are lazy. One common location for them is the East Lagoon at Northern Illinois University. “Geese are kind of a regular phenomenon at the lagoon near the university,” Moore said.
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
See GEESE, page A3
Baby geese stay close to their parent goose at one of the retention ponds in the Walmart parking lot in DeKalb. Because the retention ponds are so close to the roadways, the geese often stand in the way of moving cars.
Advice Comics Classified
B4 B5 B6-8
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
Weather A2, A4, A6 A9 B1-3
High:
68
Low:
48