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Thursday, April 24, 2014
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GENOA-KINGSTON BASEBALL
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BOLD IDEAS MAKE WAVES
Drugs blamed in death at hotel Coroner won’t say which substance killed DeKalb man By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Misty Haji-Sheikh (left) and Sally DeFauw, both DeKalb County Board District 7 representatives and historic Ellwood neighborhood residents, stand April 17 under a plaqued historic oak tree along Rolfe Road in DeKalb. Haji-Sheikh and DeFauw worry about what possible road widening proposed by the city and Northern Illinois University might do to mature trees and historic homes in their neighborhood.
Some residents in neighborhoods near NIU pushing back By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Tom Scott says Northern Illinois University can expect nearby residents to push back against some of the bold ideas proposed in the last few months. Scott, who lives in DeKalb’s historic Ellwood neighborhood, has experience making his voice heard. He successfully petitioned against a plan to build a hotel on John Street, and he’s ready to petition against the university if need be. “They ought to really rethink what they’re proposing to do in our neighborhood,” Scott said.
Under new President Doug Baker, NIU officials are looking to make changes to the campus’ layout and transportation plan, and also have hosted a couple of sixday “Bold Futures” workshops to generate ideas to improve the student experience, attract more students and improve student retention. Some of those ideas will be discussed today in what the university is calling the “Big Bold Event” at 5 p.m. in the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom, 340 Carroll Ave., DeKalb. Most of those ideas have not been acted upon yet, but the idea to make Lucinda
Avenue the center or spine of campus is already in the works as university trustees approved a plan to demolish Douglas Hall dormitory this May. Other ideas for change include a plan to rehabilitate some buildings on John Street and Harrison Avenue make them more attractive to young professionals and retirees. College Avenue, which runs through the heart of the Ellwood neighborhood, has been floated as the main connection between campus and downtown DeKalb, with a tram service to help students
See NIU, page A5
Haji-Sheikh (left) and DeFauw talk April 17 at DeFauw’s home about the changes that Northern Illinois University in considering in its five- and 10-year plans. DeFauw’s home, originally built in the 1940s, is in DeKalb’s historic district, which includes homes dating back to the 1920s.
SYCAMORE – DeKalb resident Charles “Chuck” Williams died of a drug overdose in a Sycamore hotel, DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said Wednesday. Williams, 30, and his wife were spending a night away together at the Jane Fargo Hotel, 355 W. State St., when she found him unresponsive about 4 a.m. March 27 and called police, she said. Chuck Williams, of the 1700 block of Kent Place, was pronounced dead at the hotel. Miller said his finding came after receiving the toxicology results. He would not comment on what drug was involved or how much Williams had in his system, but said Williams would not have died if he had not taken the drugs. “He was a young man,” Miller said. “That would be the cause of death.” Miller added he had not reviewed the final autopsy report, but expects to do so in the coming days. Sycamore police continue to investigate Williams’ death, but no charges have been filed in the case. “This is an active investigation and we still have some steps to take before we will release any details,” Sycamore Police Detective Sgt. Rod Swartzendruber said. Swartzendruber estimated the investigation would take about three weeks to complete. Williams was admitted to DeKalb County Drug Court in August 2012 after twice being charged with cocaine possession, court records show. He graduated from the drug court program in November.
Gacy murder probe helps solve unrelated Chicago-area case By DON BABWIN The Associated Press MAYWOOD – Ruth Rodriguez didn’t want to believe her brother was one of more than 30 young men and boys John Wayne Gacy lured into his Chicago-area house and strangled, but she was willing to provide her DNA to find out. She and her father gave authorities samples as part of an effort to identify eight of
Gacy’s victims more than two years ago and learned none of the remains were those of her sibling, 22-year-old Edward Beaudion, who went missing in 1978. John Wayne Eventually, the work done Gacy in the Gacy probe did help provide the family with some answers
they had long awaited: Beaudion’s remains were those found in a forest preserve by hikers in 2008. And his killer was a small-time Missouri crook named Jerry Jackson who died last year. On Wednesday, Rodriguez and her 86-year-old father, Louis Beaudion, appeared with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to announce the news. “My mom went to her grave in 2001 not knowing where my
brother was,” the sister said. “My dad, he will now be able to know where my brother was.” She said Edward Beaudion’s cremated remains will, upon their father’s death, be placed in the dad’s casket next to their mother’s. Authorities don’t know exactly how Beaudion died because his skull was never found. But Dart explained what investigators do know. Beaudion was driving his
sister’s car on July 23, 1978, when he dropped a friend off and told her he was heading home. No one ever heard from him again. Weeks later, Jackson was taken into custody in Caruthersville, Mo., after he was found driving the car, which Beaudion’s family had reported stolen. Jackson was trying to sell stolen items at a pawnshop, Dart said. Jackson was extradited to
Chicago, where police said he told them he had met Beaudion in downtown Chicago on the day the man disappeared and knocked him unconscious with a punch to the face during an altercation. Police said he told them he stuffed Beaudion’s body in the car, drove to a wooded area about 15 miles southwest of Chicago and dumped it.
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
See GACY, page A5
Weather A2, A5 A7 B1-4
Advice Comics Classified
C4 C5 C6-8
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