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- Proud Sponsor ofProud Sponsor ofCHEVY OPEN HOUSE EVENTCHEVY OPEN HOUSE EVENT2014 CHEVY CRUZE LT2014 CHEVY CRUZE LT$$$159159159$159$159$$$222,379,379,379$2,379$2,3793636363636PERPERPERMONTHMONTHMONTHLEASELEASELEASEPERMONTHLEASEPERMONTHLEASEDUE ATDUE ATDUE ATSIGNINGSIGNINGSIGNINGDUE ATSIGNINGDUE ATSIGNINGMONTHSMONTHS3838MPGHWYMPGHWYITS OVERTIME!ITS OVERTIME!ITS OVERTIME!ITS OVERTIME!ENDS MARCH 31STENDS MARCH 31ENDS MARCH 31ENDS MARCH 31ENDS MARCH 31STSTENDS MARCH 31ST2014 CHEVY CRUZE LT w/automatic transmission. MSRP plus destination freight charge $20,735.00. Excludes tax, title, documentary fees and optional equipment.$159.00 per month for 36 months. $2,379.00 due at signing. GM Financial low mileage 12,000 mile lease for well qualified lessees. Offer ends 3/31/14. See dealer for details.PATRICKKANEPATRICKKANEJONATHANTOEWSJONATHANTOEWSLottery A2Local news A3-4Obituaries A4National and world news A2, 5-6Opinions A7Sports B1-4Advice C4Comics C5Classified C7-10Inside todays Daily Chronicle WeatherHigh: Low:46 2975 centsBreaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com Serving DeKalb County since 1879 Friday, March 28, 2014Sycamores Lilia Edwardscoming back from injuryGIRLS TRACK AND FIELD SPORTS, B1GE to close DeKalbmotors plantBy KATIE [email protected]DeKALB General Elec-tric officials plan to close theDeKalb plant in 2015 after re-jecting a plan from unions toreduce operating costs, compa-ny officials announced Thurs-day.The move to shutter theplant at 1900 Pleasant St. wasmade because the plant isnoncompetitive with otherproducers, GE spokeswomanKim Freeman told the Chroni-cle in an email. Freeman saidthe small motors produced atthe plant, which are used inresidential clothes dryers, costabout 20 percent more thanmotors from other suppliers.The two unions, IUE-CWALocal 1081 and IAM Local 2068,represent the 94 employees atthe plant. After company of-ficials announced Jan. 9 thatthey planned to close the plant,unions were given 60 days tosubmit a cost-saving proposal.Union officials presentedtheir proposals to DeKalbplant managers March 6, butcompany officials deemedthem insufficient.Unfortunately, their ef-forts, while creative and sin-cere, were determined not toachieve sufficient operatingcost reductions, Freemanwrote.Kathy Brown, IUE-CWA Lo-cal 1081 president, could not bereached for comment Thurs-day evening.As a result of the closure,94 people could lose their jobs.About 44 percent of those em-ployees will be eligible to re-ceive retirement benefits andthe remaining employees willreceive plant-closing benefitssuch as preferential employ-ment placement at other GElocations, severance, tuitionreimbursement for educationand retraining, continued in-surance, and medical and den-tal benefits.DeKalb Mayor John Reywas disheartened to learn theplant would close, but applaud-ed union and GE officials fortheir work on the proposal.The plant opened in 1946.I have the impression itsa market-driven decision andits unfortunate that people arebeing affected by it, Rey said.Clearly, it sounds like bothCompany cites noncompetitiveness; move may leave 94 employees without a jobMonica Maschak file photo [email protected]A car drives by the shuttered Protano Auto Parts on South Fourth Street in DeKalb on Sept. 5.City studies how to clear lead pollution from Fourth Street junkyardBy KATIE [email protected]DeKALB Nikki Griffithis used to the dilapidatedProtano Auto Parts build-ings down the block from herhouse. But that doesnt meanshed be sad to see them go.By the end of this sum-mer, her hopes could be clos-er to reality as city officialsinvestigate ways to clean uppollution on the property.Although city leadershave decided against es-tablishing a special taxingdistrict to improve severalblocks along South FourthStreet, they said theres stillhope for one of the areas de-velopment deterrents, Pro-tano Auto Parts.City officials are complet-ing the second phase of theirenvironmental assessmentof the site at 1151 S. FourthSt.Hopefully by the sum-mer we will know what isthere, DeKalb principalplanner Derek Hiland said.We will know how muchcontamination is there andwhat it will take to clean itup.City officials had inves-tigated establishing a taxincrement financing districtalong Fourth Street fromTaylor Street to FairlaneAvenue, which would haveincluded the Protano prop-erty and allowed the city tooffer incentives to develop-ers interested in cleaningup and redeveloping it. Theyvoted against creating aTIF district at their March10 meeting in part becauseprospects for redevelopmentin the area were deemed un-likely to generate enoughrevenue to cover the cost ofneeded improvements.Fifth Ward Alderman RonNaylor, whose district in-cludes properties on the westside of Fourth Street thatwould have been included inthe TIF district, thought thespecial designation wouldhave helped the area.I was disappointedthe TIF district didnt gothrough, said Naylor, whowas absent from the meet-ing when the council votednot to proceed with the plan.But the city hasnt given upon re-energizing that area.We are not going to backaway from it.Work on the site hasCleaning a messCollege athleteunion raisesmany questionsBy MICHAEL TARMand PAUL NEWBERRYThe Associated PressCHICAGO Vince Dooleyis sure relieved hes not run-ning an athletic programthese days.Not after a decision al-lowing Northwestern foot-ball players to unionize, andwhat that might mean for allcollege sports.If this ever happens,said Dooley, now retired af-ter four decades as Georgiasfootball coach and athletic di-rector, the issues would beunlimited. What might hap-pen from school to school,from day to day, from yearto year, I dont know. Im justglad Ive served my time.Around the countryThursday, coaches and ad-ministrators pondered thepotential ramifications of thestunning decision by the Na-tional Labor Relations Board,which ruled the Northwest-ern football team up to now,referred to by the NCAA asstudent-athletes are actu-ally university employees ineverything but name. There-fore, they should be able tobargain collectively for theirfair share of an industryworth billions.That set off speculationover what might happen ifthe ruling holds up on appeal:Would the big-revenuesports have unions, but oth-ers be left to fend for them-selves?Would private schoolathletes get to negotiate overissues such as compensationand health insurance, whiletheir public school counter-parts are denied a spot at thebargaining table?Would high-profile pro-grams such as Notre Dameand Alabama be better posi-tioned financially to share apiece of the pie with athletes,leading to an even wider gapbetween the haves and have-nots?I just dont think youcan come up with any kindof formula thats going tobe equitable and fair to all,said John Chaney, whocoached mens basketball atTemple for a quarter-centuryand was never shy about ex-pressing his views on the illsplaguing college athletics.The NCAA and its con-ferences came out in unisonagainst the ruling not sur-prising, given their enter-prise has contracts worthnearly $18 billion just for theTV rights to the NCAA mensbasketball tournament andfootball bowl games.Weve got somethingvery special in this countrythat is unique in the worldthat combines athletic com-petition with higher educa-tion, Atlantic Coast Con-ference commissioner JohnSwofford said. When itsdone right, its a beautifulthing.But some wondered ifthe NCAA brought this allon itself by dragging its feeton concerns that have beenlurking for years, everythingfrom stipends to at leastclose the gap between what ascholarship pays and the ac-tual cost of going to school, toGroup puts faith andexercise together Faith, C1LENTEN WALKERSSee JUNKYARD, page A6See PLANT, page A6See UNION, page A6Rob Winner file photo [email protected]The General Electric building located at 1900 Pleasant St. in DeKalbas seen on Jan. 10.But the city hasnt given up onre-energizing that area. We are notgoing to back away from it.Ron NaylorFifth Ward Alderman
- MORNING READ Daily Chronicle / Daily-Chronicle.comPage A2 Friday, March 28, 20148DAILY PLANNERTodaySexaholics Anonymous-DeKalb:6:30 to 7:30 a.m. Fridays at ChristCommunity Church, 1600 E. LincolnHighway, DeKalb. This 12-steprecovery program is for Internetaddiction. Contact: 815-508-0280.SA.org.Weight Watchers: 8:30 a.m.weigh-in, 9 a.m. meeting WeightWatchers Store, 2583 SycamoreRoad (near Aldi), DeKalb.Pass It On AA(C): 9:30 a.m. atDeKalb Area Alano Club, 312 E.Taylor St., DeKalb. 800-452-7990;www.dekalbalanoclub.com.Story time: 10 a.m. at Barnes& Noble, 2439 Sycamore Road inDeKalb. Free readings are open tothe public.Narcotics Anonymous: Noon at512 Normal Road in DeKalb. www.rragsna.org; 815-964-5959.There is a Solution Too AA: 12:05p.m. at DeKalb Area Alano Club, 312E. Taylor St., DeKalb, 800-452-7990;www.dekalbalanoclub.com.ACBL Duplicate Bridge: 12:30p.m. at Wildwood North RecreationCenter, 1 Birch St., in Sandwich.815-498-4405.Elburn Lions Club Bingo: Doorsopen at 5 p.m. at 500 Filmore St.Early Bird Bingo starts at 6:30 p.m.,followed by the first of four progres-sive raffles. Regular Bingo gamesstart at 7 p.m. and include twosplit-the-pot games. Food and drinkare available for purchase. 630-365-6315. Bingo license B-0400
Three Valpo Players Compete in Singles Main Draw at ITA Regional. The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team had three players compete in the main singles draw of the ITA Midwe.