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Se p t em ber 1, 2014 • $1 .0 0
BARB CUP DeKalb defends title in home victory against Freeport / B1 Adam Wilson
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Talks stall after hotel plan nixed ShoDeen president says no development plan in sight for property in DeKalb By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – ShoDeen Construction President Dave Patzelt isn’t sure what’s next for his property west of downtown DeKalb after city staff decided a $30 million hotel and conference center there wasn’t worth more discussion. The property, which sits south of Lincoln Highway between Pearl Street and First Street, remains largely unchanged since ShoDeen
purchased several properties there more than five years ago. Patzelt said movement has stalled because previous plans, including a mixed-use development, a strip center and – most recently – a conference center and hotel, have died once the council or city staff reviewed them. “So here we sit,” Patzelt said. “Not that we don’t want to do something, but what is left?” The 2008 plan dubbed the area “NB&T Square” and called for six mixed-use com-
mercial buildings that would be anchored by a new bank building. Since then, NB&T’s building is the only piece of the plan to materialize while another tenant recently rented the former Subway to open an ice cream shop. Officials have explored other plans, though. In late 2012, then-City Manager Mark Biernacki commissioned a study for $12,000 from Chicago-based HVS Consulting and Valuation Services to explore a hotel and conference center as a joint
venture between ShoDeen and the city. City Manager Anne Marie Gaura asked the firm to update the study in May, which cost $7,500. A hotel conference center would cost up to $36 million to build, and even with $8.8 million in city incentives, a funding gap from $3.25 million and $9.6 million remained, the study showed. The project seemed unfeasible to city staff, City Attorney Dean Frieders said, which is why they have not brought the idea to City Council members.
The thought might not be dead, though. He said the cost of a hotel and conference center can change depending on the size, which also could make it feasible with or without incentives. “We have not been able to find a combination of size and costs that makes sense,” Frieders said. Patzelt said after the latest potential project fizzled, there’s no development in sight for the property. “All they keep saying is ‘no, no, no,’ ” Patzelt said. “I
suspect if I asked them if they liked what’s there now, they would say ‘no.’ ” Mayor John Rey said he pictures commercial or mixed-use development in the area, pointing out previous ‘no’s’ came before he was elected last year. If a project does come forward for the council to consider, it will also go to the City Center Project Management Team, which Rey formed last year to oversee projects in the
See DEVELOPMENT, page A8
FRESH CORN ON THE MENU Beyond
gov. race, big stakes in Ill. vote By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press CHICAGO – Anyone in Illinois who’s turned on a television in recent weeks knows the race for governor is shaping up as a noholds-barred, no-expenses-spared slugfest. While the contest between Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn and Republican businessman Bruce Rauner could be one of the hardest fought and closely watched races in the nation, there’s plenty more at stake up and down the Nov. 4 ballot. As the campaign heats up after Labor Day, here are five things to watch for as the election nears:
WILL GOP LEAVE DEMS RED-FACED?
Photos by Mary Beth Nolan for Shaw Media
Jaqueline Galindo, 6, of DeKalb takes a big bite of freshly cooked corn Saturday during at the Chuck Siebrasse Corn Boil in DeKalb.
Attendees enjoy food, music, activities at annual Corn Fest By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Theresa Robnett established an even tempo as she served corn at the Chuck Siebrasse Corn Boil. “How many?” she asked, her voice rising above the festival din. “Three. There you go, honey. Very, very, very hot. Salt and paper at the end table. Enjoy.” Then she paused before asking someone else if they were ready for the corn, which was piled in a laundry bucket and in a disposable roaster filled to the brim with melted butter. Some visitors just took a ear, but others walked away from the serving tables that
spanned Lincoln Highway near Fourth Street with plastic bags laden with corn. Robnett, of DeKalb, and fellow volunteer Shelley Stark-Andersen, of Genoa, started the day at the Corn Festival’s volunteer booth, with Robnett expecting to end the day volunteering in the beer garden and Stark-Andersen looking forward to returning Sunday as a spectator. The 37th Corn Fest featured the free corn, as well as free music, a vintage car show, carnival and vendor booths Saturday. The three-day festival wrapped up Sunday. Friday saw an almost two-hour rain delay,
See CORN FEST, page A4
National Republicans see Illinois and a vulnerable Quinn as a prime opportunity to pick up a governorship in one of the Midwest’s last remaining Democratic strongholds. The added bonus, they say, is that winning the top job in Barack Obama’s home state would send a strong message that voters are rejecting Democrats’ agenda. Both parties and their allies are funneling millions into the race, as Democrats try to paint Rauner as an out-of-touch multimillionaire and Republicans blame Quinn for Illinois’ lagging economy and ongoing political controversies.
BATTLEGROUND COOK COUNTY Both sides said Cook County will be the key battleground and are sending in foot soldiers to saturate Chicago and its inner suburbs to secure votes. Why? Look no further than the 2010 election. Quinn defeated Republican state Sen. Bill Brady by just under 32,000 votes, despite winning just four of Illinois’ 102 counties. But he won big in Cook – taking 64 percent, or about 500,000 more votes than Brady. This time, Quinn knows he has to do as well or better. But Rauner is aggressively courting Cook County voters, including the area’s large minority populations.
DAIRY MAGNATE VS. SENATE’S NO. 2
Felipe Marcado shows his mother Maria a handful of oobleck, a corn starch and water mixture that is both a liquid and a solid depending on friction at the NIU STEM fun area Saturday at the Chuck Siebrasse Corn Boil in DeKalb.
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Teams compete for prizes at Maple Park Fun Fest / A3
Carly Butts talks Corn Fest and volunteering with reporter Jessi Haish / A2
Participants pedal their way through 18 miles during ride / A3
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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, faces a challenge from state Sen. Jim Oberweis, who’s familiar to voters because of a chain of dairies that bear his family name – and a string of failed runs for office before securing his statehouse seat. Oberweis has acknowledged he’s made mistakes in his previous bids – including flying over Soldier Field during a TV commercial to criticize people who enter the U.S. illegally – but so far he’s
See VOTE, page A8
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