DOWNERS GROVE
$1.4 million slated for village projects
Downers Grove officials are attributing the acquisition of more than $1 million in Springfield dollars to a law firm that spent the last year lobbying legislators in order to gain funding for the village’s shovel-ready projects.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law on July 20 a $31 billion statewide construction program for infrastructure, mass transit and schools. The bill will be funded by taxes on candy, beauty products and alcohol.
Out of that $31 billion, roughly $1.4 million will go to the village and fund several pending infrastructure projects.
“Downers Grove did really well here,” said John Nicolay, of Nicolay and Dart, the Chicago-based law firm that the village hired in 2008 to lobby legislators.
Out of that $1.4 million, most will go toward sidewalks and roof repairs: $500,000 will go toward the construction of new sidewalks along Ogden Avenue, $500,000 will go to the reimbursement for the construction of a parking building; $130,000 will go toward downtown sidewalks; $120,000 will go toward improving the roof of the civic center; $75,000 will go to intersection improvements; and $35,000 will go toward a downtown pedestrian crossing system.
“We learned that when you go to Springfield, you need to be prepared to knock on every door,” said Downers Grove Mayor Ron Sandack. “We got a great return on our investment.”
Nicolay said that the village should expect to receive the money in the fall.
— Matthew Rogina
SCHOOL DISTRICT 58
Reserves will pay to fix roof now
Downers Grove Grade School District 58 officials have dipped into reserve funds to pay for new roofs at two of their buildings.
The School Board voted 5-1 Monday to transfer $2 million from its working cash fund to its life safety-fund so contractors can be paid for their work at Indian Trail Elementary School and O’Neill Middle School. The dissenting vote was cast by board member Scott O’Connell, who previously voted against the board’s plan to issue $10 million in bonds for roof repairs throughout the district.
O’Connell threatened to sue over the matter at the board’s July 13 meeting. He demanded the district get a legal opinion from the Illinois State Board of Education, though the board attorney said that the bond issue was entirely proper. O’Connell’s threat prompted the district to delay the borrowing plan.
Supt. Paul Zaander said Monday he had received a letter from the state Board of Education reiterating the legality of the bond issue. However, district controller James Popernik said the delay in issuing the bonds means there is no money in the life-safety fund at a time when payment for the roofs at Indian Trail and O’Neill is coming due.
He recommended the $2 million transfer and said the loan will be returned to the working cash fund when the bond sale is completed. O’Connell questioned the legality of the fund transfer before voting against it. Popernik told him the move had been reviewed and approved by the district’s attorney and auditors.
— Greg Canfield
AURORA
City to install red-light cameras
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Aurora plans to install five red-light cameras at three intersections after the City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the devices.
The cameras, which will be installed in the next 30 days, will be operated by Australian-owned Redflex Traffic Systems, said Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli.
They will be installed at New York Street and Farnsworth Avenue, New York Street and Commons Drive, and Farnsworth Avenue and Molitor Road, Ferrelli said. Motorists will be given a 30-day grace period before receiving fines of $100 for each violation, Ferrelli said.
Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas said the department has seen 567 fewer accidents through July of this year compared with last year, a 16.8 percent decline. Thomas said he believed red-light cameras were a legitimate public-safety tool that could reduce accidents further.
For now, the city will not levy fines on rolling-right-turn violators, although the police department will consider doing so if there are a high number of crashes due to red light violations, Ferrelli said. A Tribune series last month found the vast majority of red-light camera tickets were issued for right-turn-on-red violations, even though traffic-safety experts say such infractions rarely result in serious damage or injury.
More than 70 municipalities around the region have installed cameras in recent years, with backers arguing that they deter accidents. Critics argue that the devices are little more than money machines for camera vendors and cash-strapped municipalities, pointing to the large share of tickets for right-turn-on-red violations as evidence that cameras largely focus on less serious violations.
— Gerry Smith