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University Plaza leasing for summer Renovations underway to convert north tower units to apartments By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKalb – University Plaza officially has been granted occupancy allowance on one of its two residential towers and 100 leases have been signed for the summer, according to Capstone Real Estate representative John Chapman said. In addition to those summer leases, Chapman said that the Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com housing complex is pre-leasing Renovations are underway Monday at the north tower (left) of the Uni- for the fall and has only “a handversity Plaza apartment complex on Glidden Road in DeKalb. Last year, ful” of bedrooms left, having hit 99 percent lease rate. the south tower of the complex was fully renovated.
Files sought in medical pot suit are turned over
“It’s a little too early in the game for a victory lap. … But It’s been well received by potential tenants,” Chapman said. Alderman voted, 6-2, last year to allow Capstone Real Estate Investments to convert the two-towered, private dormitory housing complex at 900 Crane Drive into apartments. Construction on the North residential tower and the central building – where various amenities are housed – should be completed in late July or early August, Chapman said. Some of University Plaza’s
amenities will include fireplace lounges, computer and study rooms, a game room, a fitness center and swimming pool, and an internet cafe and coffee bar. In terms of dwelling spaces, University Plaza will have 322 units. About half of those units will be single-occupancy apartments – either studio or one-bedrooms – and the other half will be 2-bedroom units. All units will be furnished. As part of the developer’s agreement with the city, University Plaza will only rent to students with valid student IDs.
Each unit will be rented by bedroom and students will sign individual leases with the landlord, even when rooming with fellow students, Chapman said. University Plaza will also require students to have a parental guarantor on the lease, Chapman said. All utilities, including cable and internet, will be included in the rent, which range from the mid $400 to high $700s per bedroom, Chapman said. Some surprises came up
See APARTMENTS, page A4
ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT PENSION REFORM RULING
By CARLA K. JOHNSON The Associated Press CHICAGO – Illinois has turned over 13,000 pages of documents to attorneys challenging how the state awarded one medical marijuana business license, marking the first release of such material. While the records remain closed to journalists and the general public, the disclosure represents a win for attorneys representing a disappointed applicant and may eventually shed light on a secretive process. The case is one of several similar lawsuits being closely watched by the new marijuana industry. “I’m pleased that the court is going to allow us to investigate what really occurred,” said attorney John Rooks, who represents Chicago-based PM Rx, an aspiring marijuana company that was the first to sue the state of Illinois. “It’s the only way to know whether the applications were scored consistent with the law.” Rooks said he received the files Friday, a deadline set by Cook County Judge Kathleen Kennedy, who set an “attorneys’ eyes only” restriction on the material. The records include applications from five companies that competed for a grower’s permit in a region that covers Ford, Iroquois and Kankakee counties. In March, the judge halted a permit award in that district. Without a permit, the winning company, Chicago-based Cresco Labs, hasn’t been able to start construction of its planned 40,000-square-foot growing facility in Kankakee. Cresco won two other permits. Its operations are underway in Joliet and Lincoln. Rooks told The Associated Press on Monday that the state gave him a set of applications with names and addresses blacked out, suggesting he has the redacted versions submitted by businesses to the state last fall. Businesses also submitted originals without redactions, and Rooks said he wants those fuller versions and will pursue them in court, if necessary. The marijuana program has been troubled by questions about background checks and how former Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration conducted the process of selecting businesses. The secrecy stems from the Illinois medical marijuana law itself, which expressly shielded the business applications from public disclosure. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office has fought the release of the applications and materials about how they were ranked and scored. Madigan’s office declined an opportunity to comment because the litigation is pending.
AP file photo
Illinois state employee union members and supporters rally in support for fair pension reform in 2013 in the rotunda at the state Capitol in Springfield.
Rebooting retirement pay Fiscal future murky in wake of state high court ruling By DARIA SOKOLOVA dsokolova@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Northern Illinois University, already facing millions of dollars in state cuts, could be further pinched by the recent Illinois Supreme Court pension ruling. Unless Illinois raises taxes, the decision likely means the university will receive less money, said Carl Campbell III, an economics professor at NIU. The Supreme Court’s ruling dealt with a lawsuit filed by retired employees, state-worker la-
bor unions and others. It also was watched closely at the local level by city officials – including in Chicago, facing its own pension crisis – and school boards struggling with fewer dollars. Campbell said other measures could include spending reductions in other areas and raising revenue from other sources, such as gambling, Campbell said. “So, obviously, because more state revenue has to go to retirees, there will be less money [for the university],” Campbell said. NIU officials already had expressed concern over a $387
million cut in higher education funding proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner in his first budget address to the Illinois General Assembly earlier this year. Under the plan, NIU would face $29 million reduction in state funding that represents about 6.8 percent of the university’s $425 million budget for the 2014-15 school year. Campbell noted that although NIU employees would receive benefits because of the court decision, the university would still have to deal with the budget deficit. “It’s a mixed bag,” he said. “In some ways, it’s good.”
University officials couldn’t be reached Monday for comment about how the decision might affect the school’s budget. Local lawmakers said they had foreseen the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court on the 2013 pension reform law being ruled unconstitutional. In a unanimous decision Friday, the seven justices threw out the law that sought to lower benefits for existing and future state government retirees as blatantly violating the Illinois Constitution
See PENSION, page A4
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