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DAILY CHRONICLE DeKalb falls to Geneva in regional semifinal, 66-52 / B1
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DeKalb filling bike path gap Project expected to cost about $1.4M By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The city of DeKalb could complete one of the missing links in the area’s bike path network with a project expected to cost nearly $1.4 million. Officials are working on the Kishwaukee River Bike Path, which would connect the Kishwaukee-Kiwanis Trail that runs through Prairie Park south of Lincoln Highway to the trail that runs
along the East Lagoon on the Northern Illinois University campus, DeKalb-Sycamore Area Transportation Study Coordinator Brian Dickson said. The new nearly half-mile trail would run under the Union Pacific Railroad tracks along the west side of the river, he said. The city would use a combination of state grant funds and about $400,000 in motor-fuel tax revenue for the project. “That’s one of our biggest
gaps from south of the river to north of the river,” Dickson said. “We had always known that was one of the connections that wasn’t there.” City officials are in the midst of figuring out what land they need to acquire from property owners along the proposed path. Negotiations with Union Pacific for easements will follow. Space underneath the bridge won’t be a problem, Dickson said, because it was built with a bike ledge after it was recon-
way to Clifford Drive, but it doesn’t connect to the trail on the NIU campus. That means Are there easily accessible biking cyclists and walkers have paths near your home? Vote now at to travel along Clifford and Daily-Chronicle.com. Pearl Street before they can connect with the path north of the river. What’s next? The project will provide an off-street bike path from the The city of DeKalb expects to Devonaire Farms subdivision solicit bids for the Kishwaukee River south of the Hampton Inn to Bike Path by May, with construction Hopkins Park before linking starting in July. to the DeKalb Nature Trail. While some connections need work, Dickson said bicyclists could eventually connect to structed in 2009, he said. The Kishwaukee-Kiwanis the Great Western Trail near Trail runs through Prairie Sycamore, which runs west to Park south of Lincoln High- the Fox Valley.
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“We’re focused on getting connections between the communities,” Dickson said. “This is one of those projects that brings it all together.” Fifth Ward Alderman Ron Naylor said the project has been in the works for at least three years. As did Dickson, he said it is one of the missing links in the region’s nonroadway transportation network. “I think it will be a great connection,” said Naylor, who represents the ward the path will meander through. To complete the project, the city will use a grant
See BIKE PATH, page A6
Official: Ill. schools fare ‘perfect storm’ State superintendent cautions against further trimming of education budgets By KERRY LESTER The Associated Press
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Pushing a moving cart of books Feb. 27 to the Genoa Public Library’s newly finished space, Genoa Public Library Marketing and Community Outreach Coordinator Craig Pierce and Genoa Public Library Director Jen Barton, help on moving day. The library will reopen Monday after everything is moved from the old building.
Library space no longer booked City of Genoa plans soft opening of new building Monday By the books
By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com GENOA – Some libraries are known for the musty smell of old books, but the new Genoa Public Library has a different fragrance: fresh paint, with a hint of new carpeting. After nearly a decade of planning, Genoa library officials on Monday will finally open the doors to a new building right next door to the old mixed-use building at 232 W. Main St. that has housed the library since 1977. The 5,600-square-foot, $2.3 million expansion includes eight new computers, technology upgrades including a self checkout system, newer, bigger tables, a designated area for children’s storytime and movie nights, and a private break room for employees. “We were at capacity,” library Director Jen Barton said. “If we ordered new materials, the old materials would have to go out. Here, we have more room.” The library has seven employees, and last week they were all bustling to get things in order for a soft opening next
Offerings in the new Genoa Public Library building: Size: 5,600 square feet Project cost: $2.3 million Materials: 25,000 books, DVDs and CDs • Eight new computers • New self checkout system • New story and movie room for children • New tables
Source: Genoa Public Library
Surrounded by books and DVDs, Brian Mihalik, head of circulation, places books on a moving cart Feb. 27 in the old Genoa Public Library before they are moved into the new building. The new book shelves are longer than the old ones so Mihalik measured and marked where the books would go before the carts were moved. week, carting the library’s 25,000 books, DVDs, and CDs down an icy sidewalk to the new building next door. “I’m most excited about the bigger space,” part-time library associate Autumn Kilbus said while unpacking items for the new front desk. “There will be more people coming in, too, because it’s new.”
The plan for a new library in Genoa stretches back to 2004, which initially called for a two-story lot, but not receiving a state grant derailed those plans, said Michele Dvorak, library Board of Trustees president of three years. In fact, nothing panned out for the library until it received a $1.7 million endowment from the estate of Robert
Weiss, a Genoa resident who died in 2009. Weiss’ gift, in addition to $400,000 in savings, allowed the library board to purchase the lot next door in 2010 and raze an old business building in 2011. Work on the new building began in July. “It’s almost like a phoenix – we had to scrap one [idea], throw it in the fire, and start fresh,” Dvorak said. “The town has seen some exciting growth over the past couple of years, and we’re happy to be part of that.” The opening of the new
See LIBRARY, page A6
SPRINGFIELD – As lawmakers consider revamping Illinois’ outdated school funding formula, the state superintendent warned Tuesday that more education cuts would create a “perfect storm,” putting low-income and minority students at risk. The State Board of Education is asking lawmakers to provide an additional $730 million in fiscal 2016 for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade funding, a 10.7 percent boost for schools in the state’s 857 districts. But the request comes as lawmakers grapple with a roughly $6 billion budget hole in July because of the expiration of the state’s temporary income tax increase, and struggle to find middle ground on a way to change the current funding formula, in place since 1997. State Superintendent Christopher Koch told a House appropriations committee that the numbers of low-income and minority students are growing while budget cuts force districts to cut staff and eliminate various programs. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who bills himself as an education reformer, proposed in his budget address last month to boost funding for early childhood and K-12 education by roughly $300 million. School districts have received less money than they’re owed for the past four years, and Koch said many are already struggling to get by. “Hurdles are multiplying as the number of low-income families continue to grow, and minorities have become a majority [of school students],” he said. Koch’s comments to the committee preceded testimony from Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar, the author of a controversial legislation that would change the way schools are funded. The plan, which boosts the funding of poorer, rural districts at the expense of wealthier suburban ones, passed the Senate last year but languished in the House during a difficult election
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“Hurdles are multiplying as the number of low-income families continue to grow, and minorities have become a majority [of school students].” Christopher Koch State superintendent
year. Under the current formula, Illinois schools receive state aid to offset the basic cost of educating students through a formula factoring in poverty levels. But districts also get grants for programs such as special education and transportation, which are based on the number of students in those programs. Since the funding formula was last overhauled, increases in spending on specialized programs have outpaced increases to general state aid – which reform proponents said results in the poorest districts hurting the most. Manar has refiled his legislation this year with changes in the attempt to help remove partisan and regional opposition for ease of passage – including adding a provision accounting for regional cost differences, such as higher teacher salaries in districts where the cost of living is higher. Matt Vanover, spokesman for the state board, said a calculation on the bill’s impact on individual districts should be available in the next week. Republicans, including minority education spokesman Robert Pritchard, said they were encouraged by some changes in the proposal, which is “getting there.” Manar told the panel that the school funding formula is twofold, and needs to include both changing the current formula, as well as investing more in education. “We should spend what we have wisely and we should invest more,” he said.
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