Public funds, property or credit shall be used onlyfor public purposes. Constitution of the State of Illinois, Article VIII. Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) reimbursed a housing authority employee $250.00 for a bridal event thrown for another employee. Payment records obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) show HACD reimbursed then-employee Jennifer…
Evidence contradicts Scott McAdams’ testimony in ballot petition challenge
Fifth Ward alderman Scott McAdams is running for reelection in City of DeKalb’s Consolidated Election in the spring, and he’s faced challenges to his ballot nominating petitions. The city’s electoral board threw out the challenges in a 2-1 vote yesterday and, unless the challengers prevail in court, McAdams will remain on the ballot for the…
City’s and school district’s claims that they don’t support ticketing children in school is easily disprovable
DeKalb’s Human Relations Commission (HRC) met last week. The city has not yet posted the video of the meeting although typically it posts the next day. At least two of us saw a city staff member turn on the camera, so perhaps the reason for the delay is due to less-than-stellar conduct, as described here.…
Human Relations Commission to explore roles of police embedded in District 428 schools
DeKalb’s Human Relations Commission (HRC) meets tomorrow night and the agenda includes a discussion of the role of school resource officers (SROs). Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez and District 428 security staff are expected to attend. During its last meeting, HRC members expressed concern about the ticketing of children for local ordinance violations in Illinois schools, so…
How did City of DeKalb end up paying the library’s expansion debt?
Mr. Teresinski expressed his frustration that the library debt became the City’s obligation rather than the library’s. Mr. Teresinski commented there is no revenue that the City is using on the library’s behalf so it’s a pure add on to the City budget. City Manager Nicklas stated it was his understanding that the library needed…
The intersection of ‘Crime-Free Housing’ and Chapter 52 is where your kid’s behavior gets you evicted
The best thing City of DeKalb could do for families who live in apartments is to pull Chapters 52 and 38 from its “Crime-Free Housing” ordinance during the current amendment process. This is because these chapters describe “unlawful activities” that are not serious crimes but could still trigger eviction. Chapter 38 is the city’s liquor…
Series: Prosecution of City Ordinance Violations
Our local schools employ city police as “school resource officers” (SROs) via intergovernmental agreements, and have for years. The objectives are enhanced safety and better relations between law enforcement and the public. What people don’t know is many Illinois schools, including District 428, have turned to SROs to take on disciplinary roles for school infractions…
What FOIA has revealed so far about prosecutions of children in City of DeKalb
Since last spring, I’ve submitted several requests with City of DeKalb for information about school resource police officers’ ticketing of children in local schools, a practice in more than 160 school districts statewide, including District 428. Here, I want to summarize data I’ve obtained that readers might find useful in evaluating future postings on the…
DeKalb’s unable to produce hearing notices for ordinance violations — here’s why it’s important
Below is a copy of a citation issued in DeKalb last spring for the ordinance violation of “Fighting within the City.” According to a file obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the person connected to the violation ended up owing the city $1,147.50 for this violation and was sent to collections. I asked…
DeKalb must overhaul ordinances if it insists on prosecuting kids
***2nd Update 10/7/2022: This week in the DeKalb Municipal Code I’ve found a provision for “court supervision” that includes community service, but am leaving this recommendation in the post because at this point I don’t know if or how it’s used. ***Update 9/15/2022: Pro Publica is hosting a virtual event on the subject of police…