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Store demolition may start soon Small’s Furniture building owner to move fast after DeKalb council OKs loan on Monday night to redevelop the Small’s Furniture site into a restaurant or retail center. Bill Finucane, 2nd Ward alderman, was the only council member to vote “no” on the loan. He did not voice his reason during the debate, nor did he offer much comment in an interview afterward. He said he voted no at the request of some 2nd Ward residents. Pappas said he plans to build a 12,950-square-foot retail center, with the main unit occupied by a restaurant. The city would loan Pappas the $423,900 in two installments, depending on where he is in the construction phase.
By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com DeKALB – John Pappas plans to waste no time in transforming the old Small’s Furniture City building. Pappas, owner of Pappas Development, said he hopes to knock down the building at 2211 Sycamore Road by the end of this week. Provided everything else falls into place, “we’re ready to start construction within the next three weeks,” Pappas said. The DeKalb City Council signed off on a $423,900 tax increment finance loan to Pappas
Officials estimate the city will rake in at least $110,000 a year in new sales tax revenue with the retail center. Pappas has seven years to repay the city through generation of new sales- and property-tax revenue. However, the city has limited what kind of businesses are eligible to pay off the loan. A new McDonald’s or gas station at the site would not be eligible, for instance. Counting the land costs, redeveloping the site will cost an estimated $4.2 million, Pappas has said, making economic incentives essential to redevelopment. The loan Pappas will re-
ceive is less than half of the $900,000 the council in October agreed to lend Darden Restaurants to build an Olive Garden on the site. Darden withdrew its plan in February. Kristen Lash, 3rd Ward alderwoman, voted for the loan to Pappas, although she had been skeptical in the past. “I am feeling a little bit better about this,” said Lash, adding that she was still concerned about the new retail center sapping dollars from established businesses. City officials are projecting that 70 percent to 80 percent of the revenue will be considered new.
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
The former Small’s Furniture City building on Sycamore Road in DeKalb as seen Wednesday. The city has OK’d a loan to allow a developer to demolish the building, which could be razed this week.
Ill. court refuses landfill appeal
Jail overcrowding costly for county
Too many inmates
By ERIC R. OLSON eolson@shawmedia.com A legal challenge to the expansion of the Waste Management landfill in Cortland Township ended Wednesday when the Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The court’s refusal to hear the appeal from the group Stop the Mega-Dump could clear the way for Waste Management to proceed with its planned 594-acre expansion of its landfill on Somonauk Road, south of Interstate 88 in the southwest corner of Cortland Township. The expansion would allow the landfill to accept as many as 2,000 tons of trash a day. DeKalb County Board President Jeffery Metzger, R-Sandwich, said county officials plan to meet with Waste Management soon to discuss plans. “It’s nice to get final resolution to this,” Metzger said. “It’s been going on for a long time and left a lot of folks in limbo. It’s just kind of nice to have an end to the situation.” The court’s refusal to hear the case ends a legal battle that began not long after the County Board approved the landfill expansion in May 2010. Opponents had contended the approval process was unfair and that the County Board’s approval of the plan was not based upon the available evidence.
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Women inmates are seen Tuesday at the DeKalb County Jail in Sycamore. Some of the inmates sleep on the floor because of overcrowding at the jail. By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – The amount of inmates at the DeKalb County Jail this year is slightly less than last year, but Jail Commander Lt. Joyce Klein predicts it will be about the same in the end. Between January and April, the county jail has seen an average of 134 inmates a day. Last year, the
county jail averaged 136 inmates a day, while in 2011 it was 141 a day. The jail has been over capacity for the past five years with the exception of three days in 2009, Klein said in an email. The jail’s capacity is 89 inmates. Corrections Deputy Bethany Rowan is feeling the squeeze of the inmate population as well. She said the limited number of holding cells the jail has makes it dif-
ficult for the staff to accommodate inmates. Transporting inmates to other jails in neighboring counties such as Boone and Kendall to alleviate the overcrowding has become the norm. “That’s just another part of the day,” Rowan said. Klein said she estimates the cost of transporting inmates to
Average daily number of inmates in DeKalb Co. Jail n 2012: 136 inmates n 2011: 141 inmates n 2010: 131 inmates n 2009: 118 inmates
Source: 2012 annual DeKalb County sheriff’s report
See OVERCROWDING, page A6
See APPEAL, page A4
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