DeKalb

NIU students and DeKalb community members demanded accountability this Saturday with a protest.  It was a follow up to a controversial arrest this summer.

The Gaming Goat store in DeKalb hosted a 24-hour board gaming marathon for charity this weekend.

Kids and adults brought out old classics, like Stratego and Dungeons and Dragons, along with modern hobby games like Settlers of Catan. One group even livestreamed their gaming sessions.

Organizer George Jaros said this fundraiser is part of Extra Life. It's a yearly campaign that raises money for children’s hospitals. He said proceeds from the DeKalb event are headed to a hospital in Chicago.

One of the snowiest Halloweens in northern Illinois marks the end of a very wet October.

The weather station at Northern Illinois University measured 1.4 inches of snowfall on Thursday, making it the snowiest Halloween since 1895. David Changnon is the chair of NIU’s Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences.  He says October’s rainfall has been much higher than normal, and it’s much colder than expected.

Some middle schoolers in DeKalb walked out of class this morning as part of a global climate strike. They wanted to encourage people to act in response to climate change. 

The voices of around 100 students echoed outside Clinton Rosette Middle School.  Students walked out with handmade signs and chanted about the climate. Many said that social media inspired action.

Ava Jontz is in 7th grade. Jontz said she’s concerned about melting ice caps and wildfires.   

A DeKalb church will host a community meeting to discuss last weekend's arrest of a man that has prompted an investigation into excessive use of force by city and county police officers.

The City of DeKalb has been in debates over the position of city clerk. They recently held a city council vote that could've changed the job to appointed rather than elected. The council tabled the ordinance (2019-055) that would make the clerk appointed on Monday night. 

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato is wading into the conflict at DeKalb City Hall that is related to the role of the city clerk.

The Daily Chronicle reports Amato sent a letter Friday to the city of DeKalb, saying it is in his reading of state rules that the city should not pass ordinances to make the city clerk an appointed position rather than elected.

The DeKalb Park District and the City of DeKalb are making plans to relocate city hall functions to the Park District's historic downtown property at 164 E. Lincoln Highway. The former Nehring building dates back to 1892 when it was occupied by the DeKalb National Bank and Sheets and Knodle Hardware. It was owned by First National Bank of DeKalb from 1902 to 1966. 

DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said the move makes financial sense. 

Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb could have a new breast health center by the fall.

Officials with Northwestern Medicine say the center is meant to increase breast cancer screening rates in DeKalb County. That rate is 65%, compared to a statewide average of 78%. The center will be a buildout of 6,000 square feet on the hospital office building's first floor.

The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Office of Tourism, announced several grants designed to increase tourism across the state.  According to a news release, the grants haven’t been awarded since 2015. The office says they will help bolster the state’s tourism industry which generated over $3 billion in tax revenue for state and local communities last year.

Among the recipients:

The Farnsworth House: $10,360

DeKalb County had only 24% of its registered voters cast ballots in the 2017 consolidated election. The 2018 general election had 60% voter turnout, a difference of 36% between the two elections.

Oscar Bahena is a resident of Waukegan and a student at Northern Illinois University. Bahena was not aware of this year's consolidated election, and he feels that most of the general public isn't informed enough in local politics.

A community group is meeting to discuss ways to improve a DeKalb neighborhood.

The Annie Glidden North neighborhood is the subject of a revitalization plan laid out in 2017. While the task force responsible for the plan dissolved last month, an informal community group hopes to retain community involvement.

The neighborhood experienced an uptick in criminal activity in recent years, prompting a stronger focus on the area.

As ice and snow cover northern Illinois, some small businesses are starting to feel their bottom lines fall along with the temperature.

In the decades she’s owned her business, Cindy Abel, of Canine & Abel Dog Grooming and Daycare in Rockford, has never had to close because of the weather. That is, until record-breaking wind chills blew through the region at the end of January. That was a first.

“I’ve been doing this for over 45 years, and this has been the worst year of all,” she said.

Freezing temperatures last week closed countless businesses and schools in northern Illinois. For some, snow days meant working remotely. Students are now returning to class after some school districts closed their doors for safety.

DeKalb's annual Corn Fest packed downtown with patrons, vendors, musicians and rides this past weekend. The fest went from Friday Aug. 24 through Sunday Aug. 26. 

Video: Carl Nelson - WNIJ

It started with a system glitch in the summer of 2016.

Hackers found a flaw in the online voting registration process in Illinois and exploited it. Illinois State Board of Election’s spokesperson Matt Dietrich said the board’s servers were flooded with queries, which are lines of code.