Area teams move on in soccer, golf, tennis B1
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Mendota Elementary’s union and school board plan to meet this morning
CL Enterprises doing ‘big things in small towns’
Union plans community rally for Sunday By Ali Braboy NEWSTRIBUNE REPORTER
MENDOTA — Quite a few kids checked items out Thursday afternoon at Mendota’s GravesHume Public Library, but the library would like to see even more children utilizing resources as the elementary strike goes on. Wednesday morning, Mendota Elementary teachers walked out, idling classes for about 1,100 students in the three elementary schools. There are 76 teachers striking. The union and the district’s board are set to meet this morning. School board president Sean Pappas said the school board’s prior commitments made it impossible for board members to move their schedules, which is why they couldn’t meet Thursday or Friday. The union said an additional bargaining session also is set for Sunday afternoon if needed. Meanwhile, the library reminds families there are educational kits available to check out year round, said executive director Emily Kofoid. The library also has games, a play area with Legos and toys and a craft area. The Mendota YMCA has noticed 3-4 extra kids grade school age in the babysitting room since the strike started, said Mary Brandner, Mendota branch manager. The babysitting room is only available for children to be there while their parents are working out; it’s not possible for parents to drop off kids during the school day without being in the building. First Presbyterian Church of Mendota has a 24/7 micro pantry See MENDOTA Page A4
TONIGHT Partly cloudy. Low 46. Weather A4
INDEX Astrology B4 Classified B6 Comics B4 Lifestyle A8 Local A3
Lottery A2 Obituaries B5 Opinion A6
COMING MONDAY Established 1851 No. 205 © 2019 est. 1851
PRAYERS AND POT Local clergy weigh in as recreational marijuana is soon to become law
FOR THE TIMES/ANNETTE BARR
CL Enterprises Co-owners Inga Carus and Peter Limberger are overseeing a handful of economic development projects in downtown Ottawa and Starved Rock Country. Limberger and Carus have made it their mission to do “big things in small towns” due in part to a belief that downtowns are untapped economic engines.
‘If it was possible 100 years ago, it must be possible today’ By Brent Bader SHAW MEDIA
C
ubicle walls inside CL Enterprises in La Salle are decorated with design plans for rehabbing a historic hotel, building two brewpubs and redeveloping two vacated department stores in a downtown.
Co-owners Peter Limberger and Inga Carus don’t see dilapidated buildings or vacant lots – they see the resurgence of once-bustling downtowns. Many years ago, people would travel roughly 100 miles from Chicago to La Salle to shop for items such as jewelry,
and stay in the Kaskaskia Hotel. “And there’s no reason why it cannot be back to that situation,” Limberger said. “Under a little bit different circumstances because the world has changed but actually even better because the world has changed and people are looking for different things.” It’s part of the reason why the couple plans to invest roughly $150 million in just La Salle and Ottawa with what they consider “transformational” projects for not just the cities but Starved Rock Country and beyond. As communities such as Ottawa, La Salle, Streator and Princeton continue to focus on improving their downtown offerings, the developers believe the efforts are a sign of progress
for economic development in the region. The design blueprints in their office represent the company’s investment in small communities including Ottawa, La Salle, Lockport and more. Limberger and Carus have made it their mission to do “big things in small towns” due in part to a belief that downtowns are untapped economic engines. In Starved Rock Country, a larger tourism potential has been identified. “Where there is a good lifestyle, this will attract business,” Limberger said. CL ENTERPRISES BEGINNINGS Carus and Limberger’s business – and their relationship – began with the falling of the Berlin Wall.
Previously government-owned businesses were being sold off or closed and the Germanyborn Limberger was looking to purchase a couple. One business that piqued his interest was a potassium permanganate company. But he had little knowledge of the business and was directed to “a company outside of Chicago,” which was Carus Chemical in La Salle. Limberger met with Inga’s father, Blouke, before Inga teamed up with Peter in 1996 to make two bids to the German government. Both were rejected and the two parted ways. Peter assisted Carus Chemical over the years with international expansion but Inga and Peter would not reconnect until 2005 when Inga was on a sales trip to See ENTERPRISES Page A3
Failed raid against El Chapo’s son leaves 8 dead in Mexico CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — Mexican security forces aborted an attempt to capture a son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman after finding themselves outgunned in a ferocious shootout with cartel henchmen that left at least eight people dead and more than 20 wounded, authorities said
Friday. The gunbattle paralyzed the capital of Mexico’s Sinaloa state and left the streets littered with burning vehicles. Residents took cover indoors as automatic gunfire raged outside. It was the third bloody and terrifying shootout in less than a week between security forces and cartel henchmen, rais-
ing questions about whether President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s policy of avoiding the use of force and focusing on social ills is working. López Obrador defended the decision to back down, saying his predecessors’ strategy “turned this country into a cemetery, and we don’t want that
anymore.” But Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who worked undercover in Mexico, called the violence “a massive black eye to the Mexican government” and a “sign that the cartels are more powerful” than it is.
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