Fred Barnhart of DeKalb, explains his reasons for going to the "No Kings" protest on June 14 in DeKalb, including why he's against authoritarianism and rights being stripped away from many different groups in the country. The second speaker is Steve Bellows, also of DeKalb, who said he was a veteran and pro-Trump. Both attended the No Kings protest.

Northern Illinois University researchers are developing a new kind of AI — one that looks at how we walk to help identify potential signs of autism. This episode dives into “iGAIT,” a machine learning model designed to supplement autism screenings at home. Host Kelsey Rettke interviews the NIU team leading this work and explains how their cross-campus collaboration could change the way families and healthcare systems approach early autism evaluations.

The NIU team includes:
Ziteng Wang, phD, associate professor in NIU's Dept of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Allison Gladfelter, phD and associate professor in NIU's School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders
Milijana Buac, phD and associate professor in NIU's School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders

State Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel of the 76th district talks with Shaw Local reporter Bill Freskos about rural healthcare access, the state of local hospitals and her objectives in the Illinois General Assembly.

Candidates for DeKalb School District 428 Board Jose Jaques, Twangie Smith and James Mitchell debate the issues facing D-428 ahead of the April 1 election in a candidate forum hosted by Shaw Local's Kelsey Rettke and Megann Horstead.

Election questionnaires:

Jaques: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/08/2025-election-questionnaire-jose-jaques-dekalb-school-district-428-board-of-education/

Smith: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/21/2025-election-questionnaire-twangie-smith-dekalb-school-district-428-board-of-education/

Listen to part one of our debate with the other candidates on the slate here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/dekalb-district-428-school-board-candidates-debate--64934700

Five candidates seek four four-year terms on the Sycamore District 427 school board, though only one seat is a contested race. Only two candidates can be elected from each township listed on the ballot. Running for Sycamore Township seats on the school board are (pick 2): incumbent Michael DeVito, incumbent Eric Jones and newcomer Cole Regnery. Running to represent Cortland Township on the school board are (pick 2): Heather Tomlinson and incumbent Alan Zantout. Running uncontested to fill a two-year unexpired term is Christian Copple.

Jones declined to participate in the Shaw Local virtual forum. Zantout did not respond to an invitation.

Questionnaires:

DeVito: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/09/2025-election-questionnaire-michael-devito-sycamore-school-district-427-board-of-education/

Regnery: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/09/2025-election-questionnaire-jonathan-cole-regnery-sycamore-school-district-427-board-of-education/

Tomlinson: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/09/2025-election-questionnaire-heather-tomlinson-sycamore-school-district-427-board-of-education/

Candidates for DeKalb City Clerk: Brad Hoey, Lynn Fazekas and Steve Kapitan debated the issues in the race ahead of the April 1 election with Shaw Local's Kelsey Rettke and Megann Horstead.

Election questionnaires:

Hoey: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/18/2025-election-questionnaire-bradley-hoey-dekalb-city-clerk/

Fazekas: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/18/2025-election-questionnaire-lynn-fazekas-dekalb-city-clerk/

Kapitan: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/25/2025-election-questionnaire-steve-kapitan-dekalb-city-clerk/

Barbara Larson and Michael Embrey, candidates for DeKalb City Council Ward 2 debated the issues facing DeKalb ahead of the April 1 election in a Shaw Local candidates forum with Kelsey Rettke and Megann Horstead.

Election questionnaires:

Barbara Larson: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/17/2025-election-questionnaire-barbara-larson-dekalb-city-council-second-ward/

Michael Embrey: https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/03/09/2025-election-questionnaire-michael-embrey-dekalb-city-council-ward-2-alderman/

John Walker, a candidate for Mayor of DeKalb, answered questions about his positions on the issues facing the city from Shaw Local's Kelsey Rettke and Megann Horstead. Walker was unable to make our previous mayoral candidate forum, which is available in a separate podcast.

DeKalb School District 428 candidates vying for 3 open full-term seats on the board debate the issues ahead of the April 1 election. Seven of the 10 candidates were present for the candiate forum

PRESENT: Marilyn Parker, Derek Shaw, Kristin Bailey, Erin Grych, Nick Atwood, Brandon Elion, Howard Solomon.

NOT PRESENT: Candidates Jose Jaques, Twangie Smith and James Mitchell. Resident Mark Charvat is running unopposed for a 2-year unexpired term

Learn more about the election and the candidates on our website: https://www.shawlocal.com/tags/2025-election-dekalb-school-district-428-board/

Cohen Barnes, Linh Nguyen and Kouame Sanan talk with Daily Chronicle Editor Kelsey Rettke and reporter Megann Horstead about the issues in the 2025 Election for DeKalb Mayor. Candidate John Walker was unable to attend due to a family emergency.