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Tough questions for City Council University Village plan will force DeKalb to weigh immediate versus long-term needs By BRETT ROWLAND browland@shawmedia.com DeKALB – A Seattle company’s plan to buy and renovate University Village will force the DeKalb City Council to balance the immediate needs for health and safety improvements at the city’s largest apartment complex against long-term plans for the city’s future. Seattle-based Security Properties wants to buy the 534-unit apartment complex at 722 N. Annie Glidden Road in DeKalb and invest $18 million in a renovation project that would ad-
dress health, safety and security issues at the property, which is 87 percent Section 8 housing. “The owners want to liquidate the property and we know there are deferred maintenance issues that need to be addressed,” Mayor John Rey said Friday. “Security Properties brings an alternative to the table that is going to have to be given serious consideration. At the same time, we need to look at what we envision for the city 30 to 40 years down the line. That’s a major consideration.” The project would improve the property and living condi-
Rauner’s idea to privatize agency raises concerns
tions for residents while addressing key concerns about safety. The proposed project includes kitchen, bathroom and other interior renovations along with replacing doors, fixtures and appliances. It also John Rey includes adding two playgrounds, replacing the pool with a splash pad and upgrading the doors, entrances and siding on the property. The city further wants the company to address a number of fire
safety, health and security and city code concerns, and add bus stations for residents at locations on Annie Glidden Road and Russell Road. University Village is one of the Illinois’ largest Section 8 properties, and Rey considers it an asset for the city. “University Village adds diversity to our community that is very important,” he said. Security Properties can’t get financing for the project unless the city agrees to rezoning the property to a planned unit development from multifamily residential. The zoning
change would allow the owners to maintain the existing number of units and parking spaces, which current city code would not allow. Rey said he wants to see what “muscle the city can bring” to get the current ownership to address ongoing maintenance and safety issues at the property as soon as possible. University Village, which was built in the 1970s and 1980s, has 534 units spread over 32.3 acres. Of those, 465 are Section 8 units rented to low-income tenants who pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. The
federal government pays the difference. The net density of the complex is 18 units an acre. DeKalb’s Unified Development Ordinance limits new development to 12 units an acre. If the zoning change is granted, the property could remain at its existing density forever. The issue of density split the city’s seven-member Planning and Zoning Commission. The advisory commission voted 4-3 on Wednesday against the density variance portion
See DeKALB, page A10
Creativity on display at first Artigras
By DAVID MERCER The Associated Press CHAMPAIGN – Gov. Bruce Rauner says his plan to privatize the state’s economic development agency will improve job creation in Illinois. But similar plans in other states and even in Chicago have sometimes raised concerns about transparency and oversight, with taxpayers not always knowing how their money was being spent. Rauner’s plan, currently being considered by the Illinois General Assembly, would turn much of the development work of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity over to a new, nonprofit corporation. Rauner and other supporters say a private agency negotiating tax breaks and other government-funded incentives with companies can move faster and with Bruce less red tape than a state agency. Rauner They say it could use private money to pay higher salaries and recruit better talent. “We think the agility comes from having private people that can be much more aggressive,” Jim Schultz, Rauner’s recently named DCEO director, said in an interview with The Associated Press. But experts on corporate tax breaks say there’s little direct evidence that private development agencies are better than their public counterparts. And skeptics see a potential minefield of ethical challenges in letting a private corporation overseen by political appointees make decisions about which companies receive state subsidies. “I’m not sure that the best way you eliminate pin-stripe patronage is to hand the decisions over to the guys in pin stripes,” said Ron Baiman, director of budget and policy analysis at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability in Chicago. “I just think it’s a horrible idea.” The Republican governor’s plan is bundled in legislation that also would eliminate the state Historic Preservation Agency and create a separate agency for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Those are moves that Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan wants, potentially giving both initiatives a stronger chance of becoming law. The bill would create the Illinois Business and Economic Development Corporation and give it the authority to recruit companies and
See PRIVATIZATION, page A10
Photos by Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Master of Artigras Brian Sprague, a second-year graduate student of fine arts in acting, leads the first Artigras parade Saturday through downtown DeKalb and onto the Northern Illinois University Campus. Artigras is a celebration of the arts.
Event proves to be a colorful celebration of art, community By REBECCA JACOBS news@daily-chronicle.com DeKALB – With a top hat and a booming voice, Brian Sprague welcomed spectators to DeKalb’s first Artigras parade Saturday. As Master of Artigras, Sprague’s duty was to get spectators and parade participants excited as he led the arts parade. An arts parade is a celebration of moving art with “a flamboyant and artistic twist,” the Artigras webpage explains. “All the participants in the parade exuded confidence, imagination, creativity and art,” Sprague said. At the start of the parade at 3
p.m., spectators crowded around its start at Third and Locust streets. Nineteen groups participated in the parade, sporting bright colors, bubbles and creative outfits. “I love parades and I love art,” said Michael Lyle of DeKalb about why he brought his two sons to the parade. Lyle’s kids collected candy and necklaces as he helped them read the signs held in the parade. The Northern Illinois University STEM Outreach team deemed themselves the STEM Divas and wore pink hard hats and boas. The Live Community Theatre had two guys dressed
See ARTIGRAS, page A10
Dressed as a goat of sorts, Kristin Focosi, a senior at Northern Illinois University, waits to march.
LOCAL NEWS
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Royal fun
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Princess event helps girls affected by tornado / A3
Railroad stories shared at brown bag lunch at Sycamore museum / A8
Indian Creek’s Madison Russell key to team’s success / B1
Advice ................................ B4 Classified....................... B6-8 Comics ............................... B5 Local News.................... A3-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World.... A2, 5-6, 10
Opinion..............................A11 Puzzles ............................... B4 Scene.............................. A8-9 Sports..............................B1-3 State ...................................A4 Weather ........................... A12
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