In a story that appears to be designed to make us feel ashamed about questioning the destruction of recreation space that has become important to the community (I’ll comment further on the land swap deal another time), the Chronicle drops in this tidbit: About that pool: Although the DeKalb Park District won’t be building the…
First Reading of Housing Ordinance Changes Comes Tomorrow
The agenda for tomorrow’s city council meetings is here. Now, it finally becomes apparent* that the $6 million they’ve got stockpiled in the TIF 2 fund is mostly going to go into the Municipal Building. Of course, the use of TIF money for this purpose will bring in all kinds of new private development and…
DeKalb’s Daily Chronicle Trashes the Stop the Mega Dump Group
In “Time to Dump Landfill Protests,” the Chronicle lays out reasons for trashing the efforts of the little people. Reason 1: There’s nowhere else for the anti-landfill group to turn short of the Illinois Supreme Court, which might decline to hear the case. Stop the Mega Dump should quit because the Supremes might reject it?…
State Budget Crisis Task Force Report is Out
It’s a 69-page PDF file. I just got my hands on it and will read it this weekend. The New York Times published a story. So did the Chicago Trib, but the Times story is a bit “fuller.” I actually saw news of the report’s release first at The Stephenson Blumdoggle, so here’s a tip…
DeKalb’s Population Illusions
**Update: DHS enrollment projections for next year have been corrected from 17,000 to 1,700 and I appreciate receiving the email heads up.** Possibly the worst argument in support of the land swap deal between District 428 and Shodeen is this: The land near [DeKalb High School] offers more promise for the district than Kiwanis Park.…
Olive Garden Will Automatically Cost My Family $68.34 If It Opens in DeKalb
Between the TIF corporate welfare and a new parking lot for NIU, the City of DeKalb will be paying out somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million to put Olive Garden on oh-so-blighted Sycamore Road if the deal the city council voted for last night is finalized to the satisfaction of all parties. Assuming the…
Mayor Povlsen Calls Opposition to DeKalb Library Expansion Actions “Anti Idiots”
There’s a Facebook group called “You know you’re from Sycamore, Illinois when…”. I just took a screenshot of it in case somebody deletes something later. Anyway there’s a nice photo of the Sycamore Public Library posted along with this description: For those of you who haven’t been back to Sycamore for some time, this is…
DeKalb Council Contemplates New Rules for Public Participation
Council will be discussing more specific rules for public participation (PDF pp. 31-33) than what’s on the books now. It includes prohibitions whenever the chair of the meeting feels like it. 3. Public Comment Not Permitted: The City reserves the right to conduct public meetings at which public comment is not received, when the chair…
Two Poodles Bring Zombie Housing Ordinance to Council
DeKalb’s Committee of the Whole agenda for Monday includes a zombie ordinance. Enclosed is an old draft of an ordinance prepared by Klein Thorpe, and Jenkins in which property maintenance items were at one time included in a former draft of the Chronic Nuisance ordinance. The Housing Task Force rejected the ordinance, and Council already…
Arguments Against New TIF Districts in DeKalb
Because somebody’s got to do it. Here are the general reasons DeKalb should not open up any new Tax Increment Financing Districts at this time. Pensions. DeKalb’s property tax levy is applied only toward pension costs, and pension costs have been accelerating. Every penny that gets swallowed by the increment has to be made up…