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Council annexes adjacent property Part of Crystal Lake’s effort to absorb lots surrounded by city By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Kyle Sobczak and his wife, Tiffany, watch their daughter, Addison, 6, play in the snow Monday in front of their Woodstock home. The Sobczaks bought their home last October after previously owning a townhouse.
Realtor: Student loans, taxes, job security ‘probably the biggest hurdles’ By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – When Tiffany Sobczak of Woodstock bought her first home at age 24, she said a lot of her friends around the same age asked why. Sobczak is part of a minority – one that accounts for the 18- to 34-year-olds, otherwise known as millennials, in McHenry County who can call themselves homeowners. More recently, with a husband and two kids, the now-32-year-old just moved last month into her second home. “My dad is a homebuilder in the area, so we were always around new construction, and having my own home was really important to me, I think, before my friends were at that stage,” Sobczak said. Unlike many of her friends, she said there was no question at that age about where she wanted to live and work – just a couple of the reasons cited by area real es-
“Between student loans, taxes and insecurities about the next step, the next job, I think those are probably the biggest hurdles.” Casey Meyers President of McHenry County Heartland Realtor organization
Voice your opinion At what age did you buy your first home? Vote online at NWHerald.com. tate agents as to why young adult homeowners are harder to come by. Of those 25 to 34 in McHenry County, about 9,480 were homeowners as of 2010, said Casey Voris, a certified commercial investment member with Berkshire Hathaway Starck at the Crystal Lake office. Voris said the figure, the most recent available, came from a business analyst site pro-
vided by the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute. Nationally, homeownership for those younger than age 35 has been on the decline over the past 10 years, according to Census data on the national association website. Young adult homeownership gradually has dropped from nearly 44 percent in 2004 to about 36 percent in 2014. Additionally, the share of first-time buyers, for which the median age is 31, was at its lowest in 2013 – 33 percent – since 1987. Area real estate agents agree, most millennials aren’t exactly flocking to brokers despite an improving housing market and low
interest rates, but the perceived reasons vary. “I think it’s because they’re not settled in yet,” Voris said. “They don’t know where their next job is going to take them.” In the Woodstock Berkshire Hathaway Starck office, real estate agent Casey Meyers said her own millennial daughter’s biggest barrier is the same one cited in research by the National Association of Realtors: student loan debt. “Student loans are a killer,” said Meyers, who also is the president of the McHenry County Heartland Realtor Organization. “Between student loans, taxes and insecurities about the next step, the next job, I think those are probably the biggest hurdles.” November 2014 data from the national association show debt left over from college is the most common expense delaying firsttime buyers from saving up for a home. Fifty-seven percent of
CRYSTAL LAKE – One of two lots completely surrounded by the city of Crystal Lake will join the municipality. The Crystal Lake City Council approved in a 6-0 vote with one council member absent a 20-year annexation agreement with W. Smith Cartage Company, a petroleum and freight transportation business that has been at 7013 Sands Road since the 1970s. The five-acre lot is part of an unincorporated two-lot island surrounded by the city of Crystal Lake, said Joe Gottemoller, the attorney representing the company in the annexation process. C i t y s t a f f h a s Aaron Shepley been contacting the Crystal Lake property owners of mayor islands like these to encourage them to annex, Planning and Economic Development Manager James Richter said. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended annexation of the prop- Joe erty in a 6-0 vote de- Gottemoller spite some concerns over the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department’s access and questions on whether the company should be allowed to keep its gravel parking lot indefinitely. A company representative told the commission the department has access to the site after hours and the tankers aren’t kept full overnight, according to council documents. The commission left the question on what to do about the parking lot up to the council. The council decided it wasn’t a problem. W. Smith Cartage has been a “good neighbor, just not a part of Crystal Lake,” Mayor Aaron Shepley said,
See MARKET, page A4 See ANNEXATION, page A2
Outgoing Gov. Pat Quinn takes look back, offers hints at future By SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn is characterizing his tenure as one of fairness – trying to create jobs by inking a capital construction plan, legalizing same-sex marriage and ending Illinois’ death penalty – and hinted Tuesday that he’ll stay focused on that principle by returning to his activist roots after leaving office. With just days until Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner takes over Illinois, the Chicago Democrat offered a snapshot of how he would
like to frame his legacy during an emotional goodbye speech to the City Club of Chicago. Focusing on achievements, like doubling the earned income tax credit and the state’s falling unemployment rate, Quinn painted a self-portrait of a leader tasked with hard choices at a difficult time in Illinois history. Unaddressed were parts of his record that political experts see as a mixed bag, such as his struggle to connect with lawmakers and leaving behind voluminous financial problems. Quinn – tapped as lieutenant gov-
ernor to run the state after two predecessors as governor were engulfed in scandal – didn’t stick to a chronology during his address. He oscillated between his political philosophy to benefit “the common good,” his past as an organizer, his signing of landmark legislation, his task of considering clemency petitions and the future. “It’s important that we always be progressive and be willing to make tough decisions on fundamental reforms that may not be popular at
See QUINN, page A2
Ashlee Rezin for Sun-Times Media
Gov. Pat Quinn talks about his tenure as governor of Illinois during a speech Tuesday to the City Club of Chicago. With just days until he leaves office, the Chicago Democrat offered a snapshot of how he would like to frame his legacy during an emotional goodbye speech.
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Schools throughout county close ahead of frigid weather / A3
Member schools vote down IHSA playoff amendment proposal / C1
GOP takes charge, eyes action on Keystone XL pipeline / B4
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