2024 year in review: Top news stories in DeKalb County

Here are news headlines, listed in chronological order, that grabbed reader attention in 2024 in DeKalb County.

DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy Christina Musil dies in line of duty crash March 28

A mother of three, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and a five-year member of the sheriff’s office, Christina Musil, 35, was killed after her squad car was rear-ended on a rural Waterman road the night of March 28. The man accused in the crash, Nathan P. Sweeney of DeKalb, faces driving under the influence and reckless homicide charges after police allege that he got behind the wheel of a commercial truck while under the influence of drugs and rammed into the back of Musil’s car while speeding, according to court records. He is out on pretrial release, prohibited from driving and awaits a jury trial set for June.

The fatal crash rocked the first responder community in DeKalb County and Musil’s family, who said at the time that “their world has been turned upside down.” Hundreds of mourners including first responders from across the region paid their respects to Musil at a public funeral hosted April 3 at Northern Illinois University’s Convocation Center.

Judge ousts oft-absent DeKalb city clerk from office

A DeKalb County judge ruled March 28 that DeKalb City Clerk Sasha Cohen forfeited his elected office after failing to file statements of economic interest for the past two years, rendering his position vacant.

Chief Judge Bradley Waller issued his ruling after a DeKalb County attorney, representing the DeKalb County Clerk’s Office, argued that Cohen had violated the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and repeatedly ignored his duty to DeKalb voters.

The city of DeKalb has not filled the office since the former clerk’s forfeiture. City officials have instead said city employee Ruth Scott fulfills the clerk’s duties adequately. Scott was appointed by the DeKalb City Council to be recording secretary after Cohen’s repeated missed meetings, officials have said.

No one filed to run for DeKalb City Clerk in the spring 2025 municipal elections. The City Council also voted to get rid of the clerk’s salary, so anyone who were to run for office would do so without pay.

DeKalb District 428 breaks ground on new elementary school

Students on DeKalb’s north side soon will have a new place to go to school. Named the Dr. Leroy A. Mitchell Elementary School, a groundbreaking was held April 11 at the site, 1240 Normal Road.

The 70,000-square-foot school will serve 450 to 500 kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The school will feature music and art classrooms, a STEAM classroom for science, technology, engineering and art education, spaces designed to accommodate services for special needs students, outdoor learning and innovation pods, and staff spaces to hold restorative conversations for student discipline.

“I’m hoping some child will know that because there was an adopted kid, a foster kid who made it, that [the] school is named after, that they could make it, too,” Mitchell, the building’s namesake, said during the groundbreaking.

The new elementary school, which is expected to cost about $33 million, has an opening date tentatively scheduled for fall 2025, officials said. The DeKalb school board decided in 2022 to make a new school a priority of the district to reduce classroom sizes, officials said.

DeKalb breaks ground on fourth fire station, expected to open in April 2025

The city of DeKalb and its fire department broke ground May 24 on a fourth fire station, bringing emergency responders closer to an end of town that will see lots of growth in the years to come, city officials said.

The project is planned for the city’s southwest side on a 1-acre property at 1130 S. Malta Road, located at the north end of the Schnucks subdivision.

Fire Chief Mike Thomas said the station is expected to open in April.

2 DeKalb kindergartners went missing on 1st day of school. Their parents want accountability. State board orders ‘corrective action’ plan.

Two DeKalb parents made public pleas for accountability and voiced their concerns to Shaw Local News Network after their kindergarten sons went missing at separate points during their first day of school at Founders Elementary School on Aug. 19. One parent said DeKalb School District 428 staff counted her son as absent since he was placed in the wrong classroom all day. She alleged that staff failed to note her son’s whereabouts on the bus ride home. Another parent said his son’s whereabouts also were not properly noted by district staff while riding the bus home, dropping his son off at the wrong stop.

In response, district officials and school board members announced plans for an internal investigation into the children’s ordeals. The Illinois State Board of Education has ordered DeKalb School District 428 to comply with a “corrective action plan” after reviewing a complaint filed after a kindergartner went missing on their first day of school, according to documents obtained by Shaw Local. The district has until June 6 to comply with the corrective orders, records show.

DeKalb unveils new mural dedicated to veterans

A new mural in downtown DeKalb was celebrated Aug. 22 for its homage to veterans who have given their lives in service to their country.

The DeKalb Veterans Memorial Mural is a re-creation of the painting “What These Boots Have Seen” by artist Mary Gallagher Stout.

The mural, located downtown on the north wall of the Plaza DeKalb building overlooking Van Buer Plaza, features images of empty military boots as a tribute to fallen soldiers, dog tags signifying the personal sacrifice of the individual service member and the American flag to represent national gratitude for soldiers. The piece was selected by the DeKalb Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission.

“We have a lot of memorials throughout the city of DeKalb, which are flags, which are plaques, which recognize our veterans, which is incredibly important,” DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes, a U.S. Army veteran, said during the ceremony. “What I love about this one is I bet everyone here has a connection to someone who’s served. At times, that service meant they didn’t come home.”

Kindred Hospital to close in Sycamore

The Louisville, Kentucky-based operator of Kindred Hospital in Sycamore intends to close the long-term acute care facility no later than April 30, city and hospital officials have confirmed.

The city of Sycamore was notified of the decision by Kindred Hospitals, which is part of Scion Health, to close Kindred Hospital on Oct. 15, according to city documents.

The 64-bed hospital had fewer than 20 beds filled at the time of the letter and saw a 25% decline in hospital use between 2018 and 2023, according to a letter sent to the city of Sycamore by Chicago-based Polsinelli Law Firm, which represents the hospital.

In Illinois, a hospital can’t be closed without state board approval, so for the expected closure of Kindred Hospital in Sycamore to commence, hospital officials will need to receive a go-ahead from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.

Sycamore condo development gets OK by City Council after third-round pitch

New plans for a second phase of Old Mill Park, a 55-plus community in Sycamore, received city approval after the developer tweaked his idea multiple times to reduce the density of the proposed residential complex.

Developer Brian Grainger’s proposal and request for reconsideration were denied in August and September. Grainger returned to city meetings in October with amended plans. The new phase two of Old Mill Park includes some single-bedroom units, with a density of 5.91 units per acre, according to city documents.

The second phase of the development will sit across the street from Old Mill Park’s first phase, northeast of the intersection of Route 23 and Mount Hunger Road, and include 110 units in 21 residential buildings on 18.6 acres.

Grainger said he hopes condos in Old Mill Park phase two will have a starting price of about $280,000.

Two police shootings in one day; state’s attorney won’t bring charges to officers, rules uses of force were ‘justified’

A DeKalb police officer shot and killed a Rockford man after an hourslong standoff with a hostage in the early-morning hours Oct. 23. Authorities said the man, later identified as Abram Perez, 42, took a woman hostage inside a car for hours in rural DeKalb Township and then shot at police.

A countywide police tactical response team tried to resolve the situation peacefully, appealing to the man’s requests for more than four hours unsuccessfully, authorities said.

The Illinois State Police in November released edited police video footage of the shooting, which showed Perez’s final moments. Former DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato reviewed Illinois State Police findings in an investigation and determined he would not bring charges against the police officer who fired the fatal shot.

Less than eight hours after the fatal township shooting, DeKalb police responded to an attack at Brian Bemis Toyota car dealership in DeKalb after 911 calls reporting a man was attacking employees with two knives.

Two officers, later identified by authorities as DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd and officer Brian Bollow, shot Charles M. Tripicchio in the abdomen to stop him from attacking car dealership employees about midday Oct. 23. The chief and officer also will not face criminal charges, according to findings from Amato’s and state police’s investigations. Bollow’s body-camera footage was released by state police in November along with Amato’s findings.

Tripicchio faces criminal charges in the attack, including armed violence and attempted armed robbery.

DeKalb apartment fire displaces dozens before Christmas. Community rallies to support families in need

An estimated 60 DeKalb residents were displaced Dec. 22 after a raging fire broke out at an apartment complex, leaving them without housing only days before Christmas.

Volunteers, residents and neighbors came together to help out the families in need, many of whom have children or babies, according to the Family Service Agency of DeKalb County. The Monday morning after the fire saw many victims set up with temporary housing accommodations at Red Roof Inn. Churches and service agencies helped connect families to food and clothing vouchers.

Family Service Agency employees issued calls to local landlords to help offer affordable and permanent housing to affected residents in the wake of the fire.

City Manager Bill Nicklas said 1024 W. Hillcrest Drive will be demolished after it was condemned because of significant smoke, water and fire damage. No injuries were reported in the blaze.

“I’m just so proud to live in a community that takes care of each other,” DeKalb Township Supervisor Mary Hess said Dec. 23. “Especially this time of year when we’re all so busy.”