TUESDAY
Ja n u a r y 27, 2015 • $1 .0 0
RUNNING OUT OF TIME Sycamore struggling to find new timers for penny parking meters / A3 HIGH
LOW
31 17 Complete forecast on page A8
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DeKalb to buy Protano land Purchase would be first step to clean up junkyard By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb aldermen Monday decided to buy a contaminated junkyard in hopes that clearing it will foster more development on the city’s south side. During the DeKalb City
Council meeting, aldermen dy what has been identified as voted to purchase the for- a brownfield condition.” Principal Planner Dermer Protano Auto Parts land ek Hiland exat 1151 S. Fourth St. from plained the city DeKalb County. can buy the Acquiring the 2-acre site land, which is will allow the city to apply for spread across state and federal remediation two parcels grants, which could make and contains way for needed redevelopthree empty ment, Mayor John Rey said. John Rey “I think it clearly is a det- DeKalb mayor buildings, from DeKalb County riment to the neighborhood in its present condition,” Rey for less than $1,500. The county has served as said. “Our challenge will be to the trustee of the land after pursue the grant opportuni- no one bid on it in a DeKalb ties that will be there to reme- County Sheriff’s sale that
Snowstorm threatens to paralyze Northeast
What’s next? City officials will request the DeKalb County Treasurer’s office transfer the deed to the city. The transfer could be complete within the next three months. Afterward, city staff will start applying for grants to clear the site, which could take years. Source: City Attorney Dean Frieders county records show happened in October. The former owners owed
more than $100,000 in delinquent property taxes, Hiland said. Once the city owns the land, it can apply for grants from organizations such as the Illinois and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies. Those grants would be used to perform environmental remediation that has to precede redevelopment, based on the findings of an investigation under the state agency’s brownfield program. The investigation uncovered a large pile of discarded auto parts and indicated the
site had been used to burn cars in the 1960s and ’70s. The EPA’s report concluded soil on the site also was contaminated with lead. City Attorney Dean Frieders said the deed transfer between the city and the county can be complete within the next three months, although obtaining grants and clearing the property could take several years. For 5th Ward Alderman Ron Naylor, who represents the land on the west side of
See LAND, page A5
Fiscal storm clouds
By MEGHAN BARR The Associated Press NEW YORK – Tens of millions of people along the Philadelphia-to-Boston corridor rushed to get home and settle in Monday as a fearsome storm swirled in with the potential for hurricane-force winds and 1 to 3 feet of snow that could paralyze the Northeast for days. Snow was coating cars and building up on sidewalks and roadways in New York City by evening, and light snow was falling in Boston. Forecasters said the storm would build into a blizzard, and the brunt of it would hit late Monday and into today. As the snow got heavier, much of the region rushed to shut down. More than 7,700 flights in and out of the Northeast were canceled, and many of them may not take off again until Wednesday. Schools and businesses let out early. Government offices closed. Shoppers stocking up on food jammed supermarkets and elbowed one another for what was left. Broadway stages went dark. “It’s going to be ridiculous out there, frightening,” said postal deliveryman Peter Hovey, standing on a snowy commuter train platform in White Plains, New York. All too aware that big snowstorms can make or break politicians, governors and mayors moved quickly to declare emergencies and order the shutdown of streets and highways to prevent travelers from getting stranded and to enable plows and emergency vehicles to get through. “This will most likely be one of the largest blizzards in the history of New York City,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio warned. He urged New Yorkers to go home and stay there, adding: “People have to make smart decisions from this point on.” Commuters such as Sameer Navi, 27, of Long Island, were following the advice. Navi, who works for Citigroup in Manhattan, said he takes the Long Island Rail Road every day and left work early Monday after warnings by local officials to get home before the brunt of the storm. “I did leave earlier than usual,” he said. “Penn Station [is] less crowded than I thought it would be so I’m guessing people left earlier or didn’t go to work today.” Up to now, this has been a largely snow-free winter in the urban Northeast. But this storm threatened to
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Ashanti Lewis-Horton, 2, plays with modeling dough during an afternoon play session in a 2- and 3-year-olds South room Jan. 20 at the Children’s Learning Center in DeKalb. The center is a nonprofit organization that serves low income families around the DeKalb County.
State’s Child Care Assistance Program facing $300M shortfall By DARIA SOKOLOVA dsokolova@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Chonce Maddox stopped at Children’s Learning Center in DeKalb to pick up her 5-year-old son, Jordan, last week. As do more than 70 percent of Children’s Learning Center families, Maddox relies on the Child Care Assistance Program that provides low-income, working families with affordable child care that can be vital to keeping the adults working. According to Illinois Action for Children, a Chicago-based child care advocacy organization, the program’s budget is facing a shortfall of almost $300 million for the fiscal year that ends June 30. That means the state could run out of money for child care providers as early as February. For now, local child care leaders are waiting for Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first budget proposal Feb. 18 and looking for other sources of revenue. But state Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley, said the Child Care
“It’s hard to afford child care when you are trying to get on your feet, and it’s really necessary, so I guess my biggest worry would be losing my job,” said Maddox, a recent Northern Illinois University graduate who drives to her job at a web design company in west suburban Winfield after dropping off her son. The child care assistance shortfall could affect 160,000 children and make 100,000 families across the state unable to pay for child care and potentially lose their jobs, according to Illinois Action for Children. Children’s Learning Center, located at 905 S. Fourth St. in DeKalb, is among several DeKalb area child Teacher Kelly Kohley tickles Julio Lopez-Neri, 3, during an afternoon play ses- care providers that have seen a drasion Jan. 20 at the Children’s Learning Center in DeKalb. matic increase in working families who rely on state child care fundAssistance Program is just one For Maddox, who currently ing over the past few years, center program affected by the state’s pays Children’s Learning Center Executive Director Nancy Teboda poor budgeting. about $150 a month based on her said. In the worst case scenario, “The budget crisis is years and income, receiving the child care she said, the facility could possibly years of spending more than we assistance for the past four years reduce its services or close its collected in tax revenue and prom- allowed her to graduate, get better doors. ising more than we are willing to jobs and move forward with her pay,” Pritchard said. career. See FUNDING, page A5
See SNOW, page A5
SPORTS
LOCAL
MARKETPLACE
WHERE IT’S AT
Decision made
More revenue
Closing doors
Batavia’s Hlava commits to NIU as walk-on / B1
County reaches new agreement with Waste Management / A3
Moxie in DeKalb posts ‘for sale’ sign, listed at $595K / A6
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