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DeKalb church holds community carol sing By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
The entrance to the Bridges of Rivermist subdivision off First Street is seen Friday in DeKalb. More than a hundred undeveloped lots, including one with a single family home, will be sold during a sheriff’s sale Thursday after almost a yearlong foreclosure suit against the property owners and a longer battle between the owners and the homeowners association. Local developer John Pappas and Park Ridge businessman Peter Iatredes, the two members of Rivermist Unit 5 LLC, which owns the property, made a business decision to walk away, Pappas said.
‘There’s zero growth’ Rivermist lots to be auctioned as developers walk away By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – To Mark Emerson, the vacant sprawl of land across from his home in DeKalb’s Bridges of Rivermist subdivision is a prairie, but to city officials and local developers, it’s a symbol of the city’s stagnant housing market. The land, 85 undeveloped lots along Bethany Road, is in foreclosure, and it appears Emerson won’t have to see homes outside his front door anytime soon. Those lots, along with 20 others, including one with a single-family home, will be sold during a sheriff’s sale Thursday as a result of a nearly a yearlong foreclosure suit against the properties’ owners and a longer
battle between the owners and the homeowners association. Local developer John Pappas and Park Ridge businessman Peter Iatredes, the two members of Rivermist Unit 5 LLC, which owns the property, made a business decision to walk away, Pappas said. “There’s zero growth in DeKalb,” Pappas said, “and there’s nothing I can do about it.” American Midwest Bank in January filed two foreclosure lawsuits against Rivermist Unit 5 LLC, Pappas, Iatredes, the Bridges of Rivermist Subdivision Homeowners Association and tenants of the property located near First Street and Bethany Road in DeKalb. In total, Rivermist Unit 5 owes $735,000 in two unpaid mortgages
DeKALB – Singing is special to Sycamore resident Marilyn Loy, and singing with the church she has been a member of for 26 years is more special. Loy was among several who attended Westminster Presbyterian Church’s community carol sing Sunday. The DeKalb church, 830 N. Annie Glidden Road, held the event as the culmination of its 50th anniversary. “We don’t usually get to sing,” Loy said. “There’s a lot of Christmas carols. To be able to sing them all, you only get to do it once a year.” Westminster Presbyterian Church has been holding special events all year to coincide with its 50th anniversary. Sunday’s event was the last anniversary-related event, held to celebrate the first day of Advent, which kicks off the Christian Christmas season, said Joan Launer, chairwoman of the 50th anniversary committee. Church member Jan Vander Meer led the carols and gave the history of each song, while Joy Hadley and Victoria Young played organ and piano.
Church members looked at a projector screen to sing the words to carols such as “Joy to the World,” “Go Tell it on the Mountain” and “Silent Night.” “We’re all reflecting back on a wonderful year,” Launer said. “We feel more members of the church are more connected as a result of all this. It’s just been a wonderful celebration.” Last week, Westminster Presbyterian Church put up its Christmas decorations, including a Christmas tree with ornaments, ribbons hanging from the ceiling and stars hanging on the wall. “It’s the most beautiful I’ve ever seen the church,” Launer said. Starting next week, church members will put up 26 large poinsettias that were bought as part of a fundraiser for The Growing Place, a nonprofit organization and childhood program in DeKalb. Shirley Scott, who assists with church activities, helped put up some of the Christmas decorations. Scott called the community carol sing the “grand entrance to the Christmas holiday season.” “It’s a very musical church,” she said. “We are very blessed to have so many talented people.”
and various court fees, according to court documents. They also owe the homeowners association more than $130,000 in unpaid dues, court filings show. The foreclosed lots represent onethird of the entire neighborhood, but they’re not the only ones up for grabs. A smattering of for sale signs dot empty lots and those with homes. Development in the subdivision has dwindled since he moved into the neighborhood in 2006, Emerson said. “It seemed like there was always something going up,” Emerson said. “Now, I think maybe we had a couple in the last year or so.” Iatredes said they tried to sell Andrea Azzo – aazzo@shawmedia.com
See FORECLOSURE, page A4
Members of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 830 N. Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb, sing Christmas carols Sunday at the culmination of the church’s 50th anniversary.
Question on wage looms over state lawmakers’ final 3-day session By KERRY LESTER The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – The biggest issue hanging over Illinois lawmakers in a final three-day veto session this week is whether they can muster the votes to approve a minimum wage hike – an uphill climb that proponents are continuing to pursue amid behind-the-scenes maneuverings in both Springfield and Chicago. Passing the increase would be a capstone on Gov. Pat Quinn’s decades-long political career, and Chicago officials are expediting an attempt to raise the city’s wage in anticipation of action in the capitol. With Quinn’s political capital wan-
ing in his final days in office, the statewide bill’s fate rests in the hands of fellow Democratic leaders with big majorities but their own agendas. The General Assembly, which reconvenes Tuesday, has been quietly winding down for the year on most other substantive issues in the midst of the first inter-party transition between governors in more than a decade. State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, a Maywood Democrat, said she intends to call the minimum wage bill for a vote in the Senate this week. Earlier this month, she introduced a new proposal that would increase the state’s current minimum wage of $8.25 to $11 for workers
election campaign. While Senate President John Cullerton said he’s confident his chamber can pass the legislation in its current form, its fate in the House is far from certain. There, regional differences have arisen within Speaker Michael Madigan’s slim 71-member supermajority, with downstate and suburban Democrats expressing fears it could hurt local businesses. “I believe the speaker is holding the cards right now,” AP photo Lightford said. “The speaker Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner speaks to supporters during a campaign rally can motivate his members to Nov. 3 outside the state Capitol in Springfield. Rauner said he would be in support of the minimum support a minimum wage increase paired with other economic reforms. wage.” Madigan, a Chicago Dem18 and older by 2017 – a measure and many other Democrats ocrat known for his ability to that goes beyond what Quinn were demanding during the push or stall key pieces of leg-
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islation, has said he supports the wage hike and co-sponsored a November referendum in which a solid majority of Illinoisans expressed support as well. His spokesman, Steve Brown, said it’s a matter of gauging the support of the entire House caucus, and the speaker is determining “what changes, if any, go into a minimum wage increase bill.” Chicago officials have expressed concern that business groups will push for legislation that includes a prohibition on municipalities raising their minimum wage higher than the state’s. In light of that, Mayor
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