75 cents
Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
T y, April 23, 2013 Tuesday,
PREP BASEBALL • SPORTS, B1
NBA PLAYOFFS • SPORTS, B1
Sycamore homers twice in win against DeKalb
Bulls earn 90-82 victory, even series with Nets at 1
Sycamore’s Mark Skelley
TIF loans receive initial OK About $1M in financing by DeKalb would support 2 projects By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb leaders gave the initial nod Monday to approve nearly $1 million in redevelopment incentives to redevelop the former DeKalb Clinic Annex and the former Small’s Furniture store. DeKalb aldermen voted unanimously on the tax increment financing proposals from John Pappas, the owner of Pappas Development, and Bill and Joy McMahon, the owners of Lincoln Inn Restaurant. The proposals even won the sup-
port of 1st Ward Alderman David Jacobson, a vocal critic of how tax increment financing is used. “I am a big supporter of this plan,” Jacobson said about the McMahons’ proposal. “I have been an advocate of certain guidelines on how we spend our TIF dollars … this project meets all of those things. This project is why we need a TIF.” The McMahons are requesting a $330,000 forgivable TIF loan, and a $25,000 architectural improvement program loan, so they can redevelop the old DeKalb Clinic Annex at 302 Grove St. into a banquet hall. They
purchased the building at auction March 21. Pappas is requesting a $628,000 forgivable TIF loan to redevelop the Small’s Furniture property at 2211 Sycamore Road into either a restaurant or a retail center. It is the same location Darden Restaurants planned to open David Jacobson an Olive Garden before the chain backed out. The aldermen discussed the requests during the last business meet-
ing of the current City Council. Any votes on the proposals would come in May, after newly elected Aldermen Bill Finucane, Robert Snow and Mayor John Rey are sworn in. The McMahons hope to open a banquet hall called Faranda’s by September. Bill McMahon said the need for a banquet hall in DeKalb. While he’s confident he will find success, McMahon highlighted that he faces a lot of hurdles at first. “While the upfront costs are there, the profits for this are going to be slow,” said McMahon, noting the $1.7 million price tag on the project.
READYING FOR OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES
ANTSY TO GET OUTDOORS
The development Pappas wants to do is also costly. Counting the land costs, redeveloping the Small’s Furniture store would cost $4.2 million. Pappas said he will purchase the property regardless of what the city does, but he needs economic incentives to redevelop it. “I am purchasing the property,” Pappas said. “I am willing to invest in the property and do whatever it takes to make it happen. Whatever happens … the city gets their money back.”
See TIF, page A6
Students: Retain D-424 teachers By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com GENOA – Julie Sorensen has embraced a learning opportunity that arose with Genoa-Kingston School District 424’s plans to lay off 14 teachers at the end of the academic year. As Sorensen prepares for what could be her final weeks in Genoa classrooms, the visual arts teacher said she has been amazed and inspired by the civic engagement of her sixth-grade students. A day after school board members decided March 19 to cut 14 teaching positions as part of a plan to trim $600,000 from the next academic year’s budget, some of Sorensen’s students came to school with posters and petitions. They wanted to show support for the staff and persuade board members to reverse their decision. The petition has received signatures from students throughout the middle school and could be presented to the board at its April 30 meeting.
See TEACHERS, page A6 Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Lily Beck (left), 2, of DeKalb, and her mother, Melissa, work out together during a Tumble Tots class April 15 at the Haish Gymnasium in DeKalb.
Park districts prepare for spring weather By STEPHANIE HICKMAN shickman@shawmedia.com Colleen Belmont had hoped the days of sunny skies and warmer temperatures were here to stay. The DeKalb Park District program director was glad to see so many residents utilizing the local parks while the weather was nice. “There were tons of dogs out on the street and lots more bicycles,” she said. But it seems those days were merely a brief preview of the spring weather the area has yet to enjoy on a regular basis. Colder temperatures, heavy rain and strong winds have forced both the DeKalb and Sycamore park districts to move many of their activities indoors. Sycamore Golf Course and the Sycamore Park District administrative offices were flooded last week, along with parks and road-
ways on DeKalb’s south side. That means outdoor programs such as tennis lessons, soccer camps and lifeguarding classes have been held in gyms and other indoor facilities, Belmont said. But the less than desirable weather won’t deter some residents. Sycamore Park District’s Superintendent of Recreation Bart Desch said all 20 of the registered children and their parents showed up to the district’s T-ball league practice on a cold, windy evening earlier this month. But the rest of the district’s baseball, softball and rugby leagues have struggled to meet consistently because of the unpredictable weathRob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com er. Katie Miller (left), 2, of DeKalb, tosses a beanbag to her mother, Lisa, during a Tumble “All the groups are having that isTots class April 15 at the Haish Gymnasium in DeKalb. sue,” he said. But Desch and Belmont agreed Voice your opinion the show must go on.
See OUTDOORS, page A6
Boston suspect charged; death penalty possible By STEVE PEOPLES AND DENISE LAVOIE The Associated Press BOSTON – A seriously wounded Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged in his hospital room Monday with bombing the Boston Marathon in a plot with his older brother and could get the death penalty for the attack that killed three people. Tsarnaev, 19, was charged by federal prosecutors with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction – a bomb – to kill. The criminal complaint containing the allegations shed no light on the motive.
What’s your favorite outdoor spring activity? Vote at Daily-Chronicle.com.
See CHARGED, page A2
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
Weather A2, A6 A7 B1-4
Advice Comics Classified
B6 B7 B8-10
High:
52
Low:
34