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Jan uar y 14, 201 5 • $1 .0 0
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Delays keep old market spot empty Browns’ County Market building still vacant after last summer’s auction By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Transaction delays from last summer’s auction of the former Browns’ County Market building are keeping the deal from closing and keeping the State Street business address vacant. In July 2014, National Bank & Trust auctioned off the 35,120-square-foot retail space at 403 E. State St., with an opening bid of $500,000. Details of the auction were not set to be made public for 45 days, as that is the time period the buyer would have to close. The auction happened six months ago. “There have been various delays with the overall transaction,” said David McCoy, senior vice president and chief financial office at NB&T. He declined to give specifics about the delays, or the buyer. “Until it gets to the point of closing, I can’t disclose who the buyer is,” McCoy said. No deadline has been set to close the transaction, McCoy said. “I would prefer it closed last year,” McCoy said. “At this
point and time, we’re just waiting.” City Manager Brian Gregory said the delays are not related to the city. “Obviously it’s not our preference to have a vacant building,” he said. Browns’ County Market closed in 2013 after the owner transferred the property to NB&T and proceeded with Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The retail space is part of a shopping center that also contains a Family Dollar store and a Resource Bank branch. The Wendy’s restaurant that was destroyed in a fire last week is on one of the shopping area’s outlots. Mayor Ken Mundy said he thought the old market space was sold months ago. “Then after that, to my knowledge, no one’s ap proached the city with plans for the building,” Mundy said. Rose Treml, executive director of the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce, said she was confident the building wouldn’t be vacant for much longer. “It takes time because it’s a
CHANGING THE RULES
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Northern Illinois University students park Tuesday along Garden Road near Barsema Hall on campus. In 2014, 470 parking tickets were issued on Garden Road.
DeKalb officials aim to streamline parking guidelines By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Students walking into Barsema Hall to take an early morning final couldn’t predict how they would fare on their test, but they knew one thing for certain: If they parked on Garden Road before 9 a.m., they would return to find a parking ticket. That was until last month, when the DeKalb City Council approved changes to the regulations along the street, giving students, staff and other motorists an extra three hours parking time. More changes to on-street parking rules could be sprinkled throughout the upcoming year as city staff and police comb through the city’s parking laws looking for rules that overlap and conflict or don’t make sense for the area. On Garden, parking was banned from 2 to 9 a.m. After the City Council approved a change, parking is now restricted from 2 to 6 a.m. on Garden between Lucinda Avenue and Hillcrest Drive to prohibit overnight parking. Garden was the No. 1 spot in DeKalb to get a parking ticket in 2014, records show. There were 470 parking tickets issued by DeKalb police to vehicles parked on the street in 2014, according to police records. Overall in 2014, police issued more than 7,000 tickets, a city report shows. According to this year’s budget, the city generated about $65,000 through parking citations from July 2013 through June 2014. City code states parking tickets range from $25 to $350, depending on the situation.
See VACANCY, page A5
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
The 35,120-square-foot retail space at 403 E. State St. in Sycamore that was left vacant by Browns’ County Market in 2013 was auctioned off in July by National Bank & Trust, but the real estate transaction still has not closed.
NIU graduate student Nathan Conway talks Tuesday about the old 9 a.m. parking start time along Garden Road and the inconvenience it caused. He said it was difficult to park and make it to an 8 a.m. final without getting a ticket. way said “But before, like when we had finals at 8 a.m., even though it’s springtime, so there’s no snow on the Top streets for parking tickets in 2014 ground, you wouldn’t be able to park 1. Garden Road: 470 here without getting a ticket.” 2. Russel Road: 443 City Engineer John Laskowski said 3. Regent Drive: 440 Garden is one example of many possi4. Spiros Court: 417 ble parking changes. 5. Aspen Court: 387 Laskowski said staff are parsing the Source: DeKalb Police Department city’s parking enforcement code, with the plan to bring all the discrepancies For NIU graduate student Nathan to the City Council later this year. “We were getting more requests Conway, 23, the parking rule change on Garden is the next-best thing to than usual from residents,” Laskowexpanding the road to make room for ski said. “And we thought maybe we more spaces. “Now it’s more convenient,” ConSee PARKING, page A5
By the numbers
Gov. Rauner must tackle own agenda, predecessor’s By JOHN O’CONNOR and SARA BURNETT The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner spent his first full day in office Tuesday dealing with two agendas: his own, imposing tougher ethics rules, and a second involving the last-minute machinations of his vanquished predecessor, which posed out-of-the-gate political dilemmas for the newly minted chief executive. The Republican put his pen to tighter rules on the “revolving door” through which lawmakers and policymakers pass directly into lobbying jobs, on public officials accepting gifts and on greater personal finan-
cial disclosure. “Business as usual is over in Illinois,” Rauner said in taking the reins of a state that has seen two of its past three governors do long stretches in federal prison. “Today, we are showing the state of Illinois we have learned our lessons and are changing.” Officials may no longer negotiate for a lobbying job while still in office and may not start work as a lobbyist before completing a yearlong “cooling off” period. Gifts from “prohibited sources” such as those doing business with the state are banned not only to public officials but also spouses and immediate family members. Financial disclosures will
But the workload for Rauner, who also signed an order Monday crimping nonessential state spending, was made heavier by maneuvering from outgoing Gov. Pat Quinn. Among other actions, the Democrat gave parting board appointments to several ex-staff members. Rauner moved quickly on the appointments, withdrawing the names of 178 people Quinn tabbed for seats, some paid, on boards and commissions dating to October 2013. And he planted some politAP photo Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks to reporters Tuesday after signing ethics ical land mines for Rauner to navigate in the form of execulegislation in his office at the state Capitol in Springfield. tive orders. One requires state include family members’ eco- closures include nongovern- vendors to pay at least $10 an nomic interests, as well as the ment positions, paid or not, and hour to their workers – the same bump in the $8.25 minipolicymaker’s. Expanded dis- ongoing litigation.
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mum wage Quinn unsuccessfully sought in the Legislature. Another requires governors to make public their income-tax returns by May 1 each year. One governor’s executive order can be the next chief’s scrap paper. As for whether Rauner will rescind them, spokesman Lance Trover would only say, “Everything is under review,” including five others Quinn issued since the election. Revocation could prove risky. Yanking the income-tax proclamation could bruise Rauner politically. Quinn hit Rauner hard during the fall campaign because the wealthy venture capitalist didn’t release his returns until weeks before Election Day.
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