WEDNESDAY
Ma rch 25 , 2015 • $1 . 0 0
JUST GETTING STARTED
DAILY CHRONICLE
Hinckley-Big Rock’s Harrod looks to improve on her freshman success / B1 HIGH
50 29 Complete forecast on page A10
daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
LOW
Facebook.com/dailychronicle
@dailychronicle
Duck Soup in danger of closing Members to hold emergency meeting to decide fate of DeKalb grocery co-op By BRETT ROWLAND browland@shawmedia.com DeKALB – After 40 years in DeKalb, the Duck Soup Co-op may close its doors, according to a letter sent to members of the cooperatively owned natural foods market and posted on the organization’s Facebook page. The co-op is holding an emergency general members’ meeting at 5 p.m. Sunday at Duck Soup Co-op, 129 E. Hillcrest Drive, DeKalb. The meeting is open to the public, but only co-op members will be able to vote, board member Patty Ruback said Tuesday.
Photos by Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Edward Koss looks over a grocery list Tuesday at Duck Soup in DeKalb. The co-op grocery store is holding a public meeting Sunday to decide whether to remain open in light of its financial position.
If you go n WHAT: Duck Soup emergency
general membership meeting n WHEN: 5 p.m. Sunday n WHERE: Duck Soup Co-op, 129 E. Hillcrest Drive, DeKalb n INFORMATION: ducksoupcoop. com
“Unfortunately, we failed to adapt fast enough in the present marketplace,” the Duck Soup Board wrote in a letter to members. “The Duck Soup Co-op needs serious and substantial financial commitment to continue. We recently con-
sulted with an adviser from the Food Cooperative Initiative, and he evaluated our situation and offered recommendations. At this general membership meeting, we need to determine if there is financial support to keep the Duck Soup operating.” Ruback declined to discuss the details of co-op’s financial information, but said that information would be presented at Sunday’s meeting. “We’re struggling financially, but it’s not insurmountable,” Ruback said of the challenges the organization faces. The co-op began four decades ago as a buyer’s club
with the goal of providing locals access to healthy food options – long before “organic” become a marketing buzzword. Duck Soup evolved over the years and eventually opened a 1,500-square-foot retail store, which has been open to members and the public. Equity members get discounts based on the amount of equity they have in the cooperative, Ruback said. Over the years, Duck Soup lost its “vision and didn’t keep up with the changing marketplace,” Ruback said. Other co-ops in Illinois offer
See DUCK SOUP, page A6
Gov. Rauner tells studio to return state grant The ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO – Gov. Bruce Rauner has ordered a Chicago TV and movie studio to return a $10 million state grant awarded by his predecessor, Pat Quinn. Rauner’s order comes after a Chicago Sun-Times report that the grant was awarded to Cinespace Chicago Film Studios for the purchase of land that wasn’t for sale. Owners of six properties listed in the grant have told the newspaper that they don’t plan to sell their properties. The Sun-Times reports there’s no indication the studio has spent any of the money. The newspaper also found that there weren’t appraisals for the land indicating prices were accurate, and that the state didn’t have documents showing the studio had pending contracts or had been in negotiations. “The administration has very serious concerns about the lack of supporting documentation and the failure of the Quinn administration to abide by normal procedures for issuing grants,” Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said. “Following a review, Gov. Rauner has ordered the $10 million grant to Cinespace be terminated and the funds returned.” The studio applied for the grant less than two weeks after Quinn lost to Rauner in November, according to records. Quinn spokesman William Morgan said the former governor wasn’t personally involved in awarding the grant, but that he backed the studio’s expansion on Chicago’s West Side because it would create jobs. The grant was administered through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Morgan said. Cinespace received five grants totaling $27.3 million in Quinn’s time as governor. Morgan noted Tuesday that the agreement required the studio to return the grant money from the
See GRANT, page A6
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Denise Worrell, a junior at Northern Illinois University, puts a pot on the stove Friday in her one-bedroom University Heights apartment in DeKalb. Worrell, who is majoring in nutrition and is originally from Chicago, currently pays $525 a month for the apartment she rents with her boyfriend.
Rent’s not too high in DeKalb Landlords blame declining NIU enrollment, other factors By DARIA SOKOLOVA dsokolova@shawmedia.com DeKALB – When Northern Illinois University junior Denise Worrell decided to move from her dorm to an off-campus apartment after her freshman year, the transition wasn’t difficult. Worrell, who is studying nutrition, said she easily found an affordable apartment in Ridgebrook Court apartment complex in DeKalb. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve always noticed that, us being students, we can stay within our price range and we don’t have to worry about prices going up every single year because that just wouldn’t be fair to college students,” Worrell said.
on campus their freshman and sophomore years, a move that By the numbers could create 400 to 500 more rental vacancies in the area. Fair Market Rents for apartments in DeKalb County and the percentIn June, Worrell plans to age of change since 2010. move into another apartment in University Plaza where she Apartment Size Rent 2010 Rent 2014 Percent Change said she would pay $474 for the summer through a promotion Studio $578 $572 1.0 decrease offered by the property owner. 1 Bedroom $653 $676 3.5 increase While Julie Biel-Clauss2 Bedroom $858 $876 2.1 increase en, executive director of the McHenry County Housing 3 Bedroom $1,113 $1,242 11.5 increase Authority, said the national 4 Bedroom $1,365 $1,448 5.7 increase trend caused rents to increase 3.8 percent to push the average Worrell said during her one-bedroom apartment in monthly lease rate to $1,124, freshman year in 2012-13, she University Heights apartment several DeKalb landlords said paid close to $14,000 living in complex that she shares with local prices for housing have stayed the same over the past a double room in Grant Tow- her boyfriend. ers, a rate that also included A requirement that goes several years. There has been little growth a $75-a-week meal plan. Now into effect next school year she pays $525 a month for a will keep NIU students living in DeKalb County rental rates
FOOD
SPORTS
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Going green
Fast paced
On the ballot
Welcome the spring season with fresh vegetables / B10
Severson: Time flying by for Huskies during spring football practice / B1
Anti-corruption measure set for county voters / A3
Advice ................................ B5 Classified........................B7-9 Comics ............................... B6 Local News........................ A3 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World...........A2, 7-8
over a five-year period, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Market Rate calculations. The fair market rate for a one-bedroom apartment in 2010 was $653; by 2014 it had increased 3.5 percent to $676. A two-bedroom unit increased only 2.1 percent, from $858 to $876; studio units saw a 1 percent decrease to $572 in 2014. The highest spike in prices, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website, occurred in three- and four-bedroom apartments. Average rent for a three-bedroom unit increased 11.5 percent, from $1,113 in 2010,
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A9 Puzzles ............................... B5 Sports..............................B1-4 State ...................................A4 Weather ........................... A10
See RENT, page A6