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Nove 5, 2013 Monday, November 25,
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Council to vote on 2 TIF districts DeKalb considering Sycamore Road, S. Fourth St. areas for development help nois University Art Annex at 2211 Sycamore Road – is to be voted on by aldermen. Jennifer Diedrich, the city’s economic development coordinator, said the veterinary property has been removed from the proposed Sycamore Road district because it has not been annexed into the city. It could be added into the TIF district after being annexed into the city, she said. A second, larger district on
until January. “We’re still working with the school district on this potential district,” Diedrich said. The school district’s stance on the proposed South Fourth Street TIF district has been that this is not the right time. Andrea Gorla, assistant superintendent of business and finance for the school district, said she feared the long-term effects of the larger TIF on the tax rate.
The city’s Joint Review Board previously recommended creating a 15 percent surplus share through the proposed Sycamore Road TIF district, which would funnel a total of $792,136 to the other taxing bodies affected over the district’s 23-year lifespan. No similar share was recommended for the proposed Fourth Street district.
THEATER EYES IMPROVEMENTS
U.S.-Iran talks set stage for nuke deal
By DEBBIE BEHRENDS dbehrends@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The creation of two new tax increment financing districts will be addressed by the DeKalb City Council when it meets at 6 p.m. Monday. Creation of a small district, initially containing just two parcels – an abandoned building that once was a veterinary office at 2131 Sycamore Road, and the Northern Illi-
If you go What: DeKalb City Council meeting When: 6 p.m. Monday. Where: DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 S. 4th St.
South Fourth Street, from Taylor Avenue to Fairlane Avenue, is on Monday’s agenda. Diedrich is recommending that vote be postponed
See TIF, page A5
The ASSOCIATED PRESS
two City Council members question whether the historic building is a good investment for public economic development dollars.
WASHINGTON – With their destination and mission among America’s closest guarded secrets, the small group of officials handpicked by President Barack Obama boarded a military plane in March. The travel plans of the U.S. diplomats and foreign policy advisers were not on any public itineraries. No reception greeted them as they landed. But awaiting the Americans in the remote and ancient Gulf sultanate of Oman was the reason for all the secrecy: a delegation of Iranians ready to meet them. It was at this first high-level gathering at a secure location in the Omani capital of Muscat, famous for its souk filled with frankincense and myrrh, that the Obama administration began laying the groundwork for this weekend’s historic nuclear pact between world powers and Iran, The Associated Press has learned. Even America’s closest allies were kept in the dark. Obama first shared the existence of the secret diplomacy with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September, and only then offered a limited recounting of how long the discussions between Iran and the United States had been taking place. The Obama administration then informed the other five nations negotiating alongside the U.S. – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. And since then much of their public diplomacy with Iran has focused on incorporating and formalizing the progress made in the private U.S.-Iranian talks. The AP has learned that at least five secret meetings have occurred between top Obama administration and Iranian officials since March. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Jake Sullivan, Vice President Joe Biden’s top foreign policy adviser, led each U.S. delegation. At the most recent faceto-face talks, they were joined by chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Wendy Sherman. It was at the final get-together that the two sides ultimately agreed on the contours of the pact signed before dawn Sunday by the so-called P5+1 group of nations and Iran, three senior administration officials told the AP. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to be quoted by name talking about the sensitive diplomacy.
See THEATER, page A5
See TALKS, page A5
File photo by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
The Egyptian Theatre as seen April 13 in DeKalb. The biggest goal of Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre – installing air conditioning for $2.5 million – remains elusive, and at least two DeKalb City Council members question whether the historic building is a good investment for public economic development dollars.
Air conditioning at Egyptian remains too expensive, though By DEBBIE BEHRENDS dbehrends@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Bodybuilders – men and women, teens and adults – competed in the OCB Midwest Finals at the Egyptian Theatre on Saturday. In just a few weeks, the historic downtown building will welcome Voice your Santa to DeKalb, opinion complete with high school MadHave you visited rigal performers. the Egyptian Films and con- Theatre in the past certs still are held year? Vote online there, but it also at Daily-Chronicle. attracts events com. its first manager Dale Leifheit likely never imagined when he opened it in December 1929, seven years after the opening of King Tut’s tomb. “We also have a lot of private events – birthday parties, reunions, business meetings, graduation parties – that the public doesn’t see,” said Alex Nerad, executive director of the nonprofit organization Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the Egyptian Theatre hosts about 125 public events during the nine months it is open each year.
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Female competitors flex on stage for the judges during a bodybuilding competition Saturday at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb. The bodybuilding competition is one of many events, both private and public, held at the theater. The nonprofit group managing the theater renovated its dressing rooms in 2012 thanks to a $100,000 private donation, with other improvements continuing via an agreement with the city of DeKalb that
provides funds from a tax increment financing district. But the biggest goal of Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre – installing air conditioning for $2.5 million – remains elusive, and at least
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