TUESDAY
No ve mbe r 4 , 2 014 • $1 .0 0
NIU FOOTBALL Thad Ward on familiar ground recruiting South Florida / B1 HIGH
LOW
53 34 Complete forecast on page A8
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Demolition begins as TIF plan stalls Shodeen to tear down blighted buildings it owns along DeKalb’s Pearl Street By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – After years of owning the property, Shodeen Construction officials are clearing about 120 trees and plan to raze a dozen blighted buildings along DeKalb’s Pearl Street. The trees are on 6 acres of property Shodeen owns on Pearl between Lincoln Highway and the railroad tracks. They should be completely gone by the end of this week, Ben Spence, owner of Kacoa Landscaping said as his crews cut down the trees. The buildings, meanwhile, should be demolished by next year, Shodeen Construction President Dave Patzelt said. “We just believe with the lack of activity with redevelopment in that location and the unknown as to whether the [tax increment financ-
ing district] will be created, we decided it’s just time to take the buildings down,” Patzelt said. Patzelt said the first of a dozen buildings Shodeen owns in the area will come down within the next three months, although some won’t be demolished until next summer because of tenants’ existing leases. The understanding between Shodeen and DeKalb city officials had been to keep Ron Naylor the buildings dotting 5th Ward the property in place alderman because they demonstrated blight, Patzelt said. Blight is a requirement for a municipality to justify establishing a TIF district, a special taxing district where the city can divert property tax money into a special account to
rehabilitate the area. Patzelt contended the area, even without boarded-up buildings, will remain blighted and will undoubtedly require TIF dollars for new development. Fifth Ward Alderman Ron Naylor wasn’t opposed to the idea of creating a new TIF district, saying it’s one of the tools the city has to encourage development. “That’s a reasonable consideration, in my opinion,” Naylor said. Patzelt said all discussions with city officials about development or a new TIF have stalled. A 2008 plan dubbed the area “NB&T Square” and called for six mixed-use commercial buildings anchored by a new bank building. Since then, NB&T’s building is the only piece of the plan to materialize,
See DEMOLITION, page A4
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia
Ben Spence, owner of Kacoa Landscaping in Kingston, cuts down the stump of a blue spruce tree Thursday on the Shodeen property at 196 W. Lincoln Highway. Kacoa Landscaping was contracted to remove about 120 trees from the site.
CONTESTED RACES DOWN TO THE WIRE
Control of Senate up for grabs
DECISION DAY Voting basics n How can I get
results tonight? The Daily Chronicle will be covering the election with live results at DailyChronicle.com/election-central and updates throughout the evening online at Daily-Chronicle. com and on Twitter with the hashtag #DDCelect. Add your Election Day experiences, thoughts and comments to our live feed by tweeting with the hashtag #DDCelect. n Do you need
last-minute info before voting? Check Daily-Chronicle. com/election-central for candidate questionnaires on all contested races. n How long are
Voters to select governor, county board, county clerk By ANDREA AZZO
ABOVE: Suzanne Ramire of Maple Park fills out a ballot Friday at the DeKalb County Administration Building.
aazzo@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Each election season brings new rules and laws that Chief Deputy Elections Clerk Mary Lynn Meisch has to commit to memory. New to this Election Day is the deadline for grace period registration, which will allow voters to register today as long as they provide two forms of identification, including one that shows their current address. People who have changed their address also will be able to use grace period registration. “We always try everything humanly possible to give voters an opportunity to cast their ballot,” Meisch said. Today is Election Day. About five percent of the county’s 58,400 registered voters already have cast
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LEFT: After completing the voting process, voters receive a sticker. Photos by Monica Synett – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
ballots for races such as Illinois governor, DeKalb County Board and DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder, but many more are expected to vote today. At the close of early voting, 2,947 DeKalb County voters had cast a
ballot at one of the county’s four early voting polling places. That’s slightly higher than the 1,994 county residents who used early voting in 2010, the last time Illinois held a
See VOTERS, page A4
It felt like something I should do. It felt like something I needed to do.” Ian Findley, 19-year-old Sycamore resident who registered and voted Friday in his first election
the polls open? Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Voters can find their precinct by looking at their voter registration card or by calling the DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder’s office at 815-895-7147. n What if I forgot
to register? Grace period registration and voting allows residents to register and immediately cast a ballot at the DeKalb County Administration Building, 110 E. Sycamore St., Sycamore. Residents should bring two forms of identification, including one with a current address. All voters should bring a form of identification when voting in case anything does not match with the pre-printed application the county has for each registered voter.
Source: DeKalb County Clerk’s office
Costly, competitive campaign nears end By DAVID ESPO The Associated Press WASHINGTON – On a final, furious day of campaigning, Republicans strained to capture control of the Senate while Democrats struggled to limit their congressional losses in elections midway through an unpopular President Barack Obama’s second term. “The spending, the borrowing, the taxing, the overregulation, the slow growth. ... These people need to be stopped,” Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said of the Democrats on Monday, urging voters to support him and GOP candidates ev- Sen. Mitch erywhere. He would McConnell be in line to control R-Kentucky the Senate’s agenda as majority leader if Republicans win on Tuesday. Democrats weighed down by Obama’s unpopularity kept their distance from him and looked to a costly turn-out-the-vote operation in the most competitive Senate races to save their seats and their majority. “There are two people on the ballot tomorrow: me and Scott Brown,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire as she made the rounds of six campaign stops on the race’s final full day. North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan was one Democrat in a marquee race quietly accepting a bit of last-minute help from the president. She has spent much of the year distancing herself from Obama, but her campaign sponsored a radio ad featuring Obama calling her a tireless leader “who shares our priorities.” It was unclear where Hagan’s campaign was airing the ads, but other candidates have used similar ads to boost turnout among African-American voters still loyal to the president. The cost of the campaign climbed toward $4 billion, and there seemed
See SENATE, page A4
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Consumers’ rights Winning entry
Valiant Eagle partners with martial arts professional / A6
University Village to pay $255K to settle housing discrimination lawsuit / A3
DeKalb native pitches idea for smartphone application / A3
WHERE IT’S AT Advice ................................ B4 Classified....................... B6-8 Comics ............................... B5 Local News.................... A3-4 Lottery................................ A2 Marketplace .....................A6
Nation&World.............. A2, 4 Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A7 Puzzles ............................... B4 Sports..............................B1-3 Weather .............................A8