As 2019 ends and 2020 begins, here are 10 stories deemed to be among the most significant of the past year in the Elgin area by the staff of The Courier-News. In no particular order, they are:
Jensen reinstatement
Lt. Chris Jensen returned to the Elgin Police Department in early September, more than a year after he was put on administrative leave for his role in the fatal shooting of Elgin resident Decynthia Clements on Interstate 90 in March 2018.
Despite pressure from some in the community to fire Jensen, Police Chief Ana Lalley made her decision after reports from the Illinois State Police and independent consultants Hillard Heintze found that while mistakes had been made in some aspects of the case, Jensen was justified in his actions. He was also cleared of any criminal charges by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Clements had come out of her burning SUV armed with knives and lunged toward police, forcing Jensen to shoot her in order to protect himself and other officers at the scene, the reports said. In one concession to the public, however, Jensen was assigned to administrative duties by Lalley rather than put on the street.
Spring elections
As a result of the April 2 election, there was many new faces on Elgin-area school an municipal boards.
School District U-46 welcomed two new board members: Kate Thommes, of Elgin, and Eva Porter, of Hanover Park, replacing Jeanette Ward, of West Chicago, who did not win reelection, and Phil Costello, of Bartlett, who opted not to run again.
Ward’s defeat ended her four-year tenure on U-46 more controversial members. She’s now running as a Republican for outgoing State Sen. Jim Oberweis’ seat in the 2020 election.
Incumbent Elgin council members Toby Shaw, John Steffen, Tish Powell and Rose Martinez all won re-election for the four, four-year seats that were up for grabs. Newcomer Baldemar Lopez defeated Steve Thoren and Jerri McCue to fill a two-year seat.
Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain won a third term this spring, holding off a challenge from Councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger.
Recreational pot
Elgin, South Elgin, Carpentersville, East and West Dundee, and St. Charles joined countless other municipalities in debating and ultimately approving the sale and manufacture of recreational marijuana, which becomes legal in Illinois Jan. 1.
In December, the Elgin City Council approved an ordinance amendment that allows for cannabis businesses, including dispensaries, retailers, cultivation businesses and craft growers. top operate in the city. With the exception of Carpentersville, which approved a 2% tax, all of the towns will be collecting a 3% tax on sales should pot-related businesses open in their boundaries.
Zen’s Leaf in St. Charles is the nearest of 32 dispensaries currently allowed to sell recreational pot as of right now.
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Plaza makeover
The Civic Center Plaza, located between the Elgin municipal building and Hemmens Cultural Center in downtown Elgin and built in the 1960s, will be getting a makeover in the coming year.
The project will cost more than $2 million, and will not only replace deteriorating electric and drainage systems but will include more green space and an HVAC system upgrade for Elgin City Hall.
Perhaps of most interest to the public was the winter skating rink, which did not open this year because of the plaza work. Although other locations in Festival Park and on DuPage Court were considered, the council agreed to pay more $300,000 to build a new City Skate site on the plaza’s south side.
S. Elgin riverfront
South Elgin’s downtown riverfront changed in a fairly dramatic way in 2019.
Just drive down North La Fox Street and you’ll see the four-story Panton Mill Station apartments nearing completion. Across the river, the three-story Marison Mill Suites apartments for residents 55 and older also is taking shape.
The downtown Panton Mill Park will be the next location to undergo a transformation. The village board has hired Lamp Construction and Wight and Co., to oversee the four-acre park’s redesign and renovation. When completed next summer, it’s expected to have a band shell, pavilion, concessions/restroom building and other amenities.
U-46 suit settled
In 2017, Henry Sembdner was a Kenyon Woods Middle School student who suffered serious injuries that required being placed in a medical coma when a fellow student slammed him to the ground and beat him into unconsciousness.
The family sued School District U-46 for its handling of the incident, and this year the school board agreed to pay a $1.5 million settlement.
Both sides are prohibited from discussing the matter.
Spring Hill Sears
Hoffman Estates-based Sears emerged from bankruptcy in February but it wasn’t enough to keep the company’s anchor store at Spring Hill Mall in Carpentersville open.
The location — the one closest to Sears’ sprawling headquarters in Hoffman Estates — is to close in February and leaves Kohl’s and Macy’s as the shopping center’s remaining anchor stores.
The only other Sears store in the Elgin area is at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.
Crazy cold
A late-January cold front brought an unprecedented deep chill to the area, with “high” temperatures of 20-below and wind chills of 50 below.
Schools in U-46 and other districts closed for days; Algonquin-based D300 had to close an extra day when the deep freeze damaged 20% of its bus fleet. A pipe burst inside Gail Borden Public Library temporarily closed its KidSpace section.
The record temperatures prompted the closure of businesses, stores, libraries, gathering places and government buildings because it was too dangerous for employees to come to work.
Two unusual snowstorms in April made the winter even longer when they arrived just as trees and flowers began to bloom. The second dumped more than 4 inches of snow in Elgin and St. Charles.
Snow returned in the fall, causing Halloween and Veterans Day activities to be canceled or moved indoors. Perhaps fittingly, Christmas Day 2019 saw temperatures of close to 60 degrees.
Shootings, homicides
A few shootings garnered attention in and around Elgin in 2019. The list included:
Joshua Bey, 24, was shot to death Aug. 6 during an argument in the 1200 block of Fleetwood Drive. A few days later, two men wanted in connection with the shooting, Xavier Butler, of the South Elgin area, and Isaiah Butler, of the Elgin/Schaumburg area, were arrested and charged.
Jose M. Cervantes, of Carpentersville, was shot by police in the Berkshire Circle/Wakefield Drive neighborhood in June when he fired a gun at him. Cervantes’ injury was not life-threatening and he was charged with attempted first-degree murder and other crimes.
A 14-year-old girl was seriously injured in a Dec. 3 drive-by shooting about a block away from Lowrie Elementary School in Elgin. Three days later, Elgin police announced two minors had been charged with felonies in connection with the incident.
Road construction
Drivers had to maneuver around multiple road projects in and around Elgin in 2019.
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In the heart of Elgin, the two-year reconstruction of East Chicago Street began in the spring, closing a one-mile stretch to westbound traffic heading into downtown Elgin. Carpentersville and West Dundee drivers dealt with congestion due to the work on Huntley Road, which is now behind schedule. Drivers also learned to navigate the intersection of Randall Road and U.S. 20 in Elgin when work began this spring to build an access ramp from northbound Randall Road to eastbound Route 20.
A $45 billion infrastructure plan signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June includes more than $23 million for road work in 2020, including $110 million for U.S. 20 from west of Randall Road to east of Shales Parkway. Another $12 million is going to the widening McLean Boulevard in South Elgin.