Local

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, firms with fewer than 500 employees employ about half of all private sector workers and have generated 60 to 80 percent of all new jobs in each of the last 10 years.

DeKALB – During last year's sleep-out, icicles formed in the box Sarah Verkler was spending the night in.

DeKALB – Three candidates are vying for a newly created resident circuit judge position.

DeKALB – Motorists on Route 23 and Route 47 this weekend will need to mind their manners – and the traffic laws – or they might wind up with a court date.

MALTA – Parking vehicles on the grass this semester at Kishwaukee College was only a temporary solution.

What: Living history camp

Lonnie Stojan was feeling tired, that’s all.

DeKALB – The city council may cut short an agreement that gives Target Corp. a tax break on its DeKalb distribution center after the company failed to meet required employment levels.

SYCAMORE – A six-month dispute between Sycamore Fire Lt. Kurt Mathey and the city ended Thursday afternoon, when a joint agreement was signed by all parties involved.

DeKALB – Brother and sister duo Jack and Colleen Boyce wanted to do something sweet.

DeKALB – Police arrested a DeKalb man Wednesday who was wanted in connection with at least three local burglaries.

SYCAMORE – Sycamore Fire Chief Bill Riddle is planning to retire in May 2010.

SYCAMORE – A court hearing in a lawsuit regarding a wind farm being constructed in the southwest portion of the county has been continued to Dec. 3.

HINCKLEY – It’s been a difficult year for Tom Sparks, as General Motors restructuring has shifted the very foundation of his more than 75-year-old business.

SYCAMORE – An agreement signed Thursday settled both criminal charges and outstanding fire department disciplinary issues against Sycamore Fire Lt. Kurt Mathey.

Hiawatha Elementary School is named the Physical Fitness Test state champion.

DeKALB – A Northern Illinois University student died Wednesday after being struck by a Union Pacific freight train traveling east through the area, DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said.

Two more candidates have filed in the hopes of unseating incumbent Congressman Bill Foster, D-Batavia as the race for the 14th Congressional District heats up.

A tentative contract agreement has been reached between the company that provides transportation services for the DeKalb School District and local drivers, a spokeswoman for the busing company said late Wednesday night.

SYCAMORE – The Finance Committee of the DeKalb County Board on Wednesday night was close to having no budget recommendation to give to the full county board.

DeKALB – A network of local physicians sent a letter to the state last week, threatening to leave the state employee insurance network unless Illinois ponies up millions of dollars owed on employee insurance claims.

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A person died Wednesday after being hit by a train just outside the city of DeKalb.

SYCAMORE – A tentative agreement has been reached that could end a dispute between a firefighter, the firefighters union, and the city.

MAPLE PARK – In order to make ends meet, the Kaneland School District will need to identify about $3 million in cuts to next year’s budget.

DeKALB – Margo Sutorius accidentally baked her spatula recently while making dog treats.

DeKALB – Holiday shoppers will be hunting for bargains, starting earlier and putting more thought into homemade and practical gifts this year.

DeKALB – In his work as a preacher in his native Malawi, Charles Banda found he often had to cancel scheduled services in rural villages because they conflicted with funerals due to cholera.

DeKALB – An audit of finances for the DeKalb School District found that the district is managing its money well, the auditors who did the review told the school board Tuesday evening.

DeKALB – Orange cones and fences are down, and behind them, trees, benches and lights are up.

DeKALB – Residents and travelers on the east side of DeKalb will have another place to fuel up before winter is out.

DeKALB – One of DeKalb's two Blockbuster video stores has stopped renting materials and is set to close in January, a company spokesman said Monday.

A mom-and-pop coin shop that has operated on Sycamore’s main street for 35 years is closing for good and the owners Bob and Sue Rozycki are moving to Arizona for some time in the sun.

In the early 1950s, the human remains in the old Needham family cemetery on the east side of DeKalb were moved, clearing the way for housing development.

DeKALB – Two DeKalb men were being held in the DeKalb County Jail in lieu of $75,000 each, charged with robbing a group of teenagers Friday.

SYCAMORE – The city plans to hire a Wisconsin company to remove debris at the wastewater treatment plant.

Local hog farmers are cautiously optimistic in the wake of China's announcement last Thursday that it intends to lift a ban on U.S. pork imports in effect since May.

SYCAMORE – Monday was the last day that candidates could file papers with the county clerk to run for local office in the 2010 primary election.

DeKALB – Two men have been charged with robbing a group of teenagers Friday.

Police are investigating an incident early Sunday morning in which shots were fired at a DeKalb nightclub.

DeKALB – Early signs show the city is on track to have a balanced budget, but could see $2.5 million to $3 million less in revenues if trends in sales and income tax continue.

SYCAMORE – A funding plan has been approved, and starting in January, a committee of county officials will begin designing an addition to the DeKalb County Courthouse.

DeKALB – The Daily Chronicle will have a new editor when Jason Schaumburg takes the reins Nov. 9.

DeKALB – People parked as far as a half-mile away, then walked, armed with camp chairs and blankets, to stand in line by the hundreds. One family even camped out overnight to be first in line.

DeKALB — Seth Hess wanted to be his favorite word for Halloween. So he was a hot dog.

DeKALB – DeKalb Police are looking for two men who they say robbed four teenagers Friday afternoon while they were walking along Fifth Street.

DeKALB – In his 32 years as a farmer, Ray Heinisch has never harvested his crops this late.

The days of Illinois legislators waiving tuition fees at a state university for select constituents soon might be over.

DeKALB – Despite ongoing contract negotiations, officials for the busing company that provides transportation for the DeKalb School District said Friday the company intends to implement their proposed wage increase for local employees starting Monday.

SYCAMORE — Bail was set Friday at $75,000 for a man who police say fired gunshots Monday night in the 900 block of Spiros Court.