DGreport.com

TCD3 had a final recommendation no participant saw coming.  Now it’s the council’s turn to ask some questions about Neighborhood Community Networks like: Huh? That seemed to be the big question last night when council came to accepting the TCD3 documents.  When the consultants Houseal & Lavigne announced at the conclusion of  TCD3 that the [...]

Director of Public Works Naneil Newlon gave a report to council tonight, an update on tree concerns along Prairie Avenue.  Three additional trees to those already taken out will also be lost.  A fourth, the huge sycamore at the corner of Forest and Prairie on private property, will be severely trimmed back for newly located [...]

Between January 2007 and now, the village has taken down 899 trees.  Let’s call it 900.  This doesn’t count trees taken down on private property (the village has no way to track that), trees on park district land, or school district land.  The village planted 1,127 trees in that same time frame.  More trees going [...]

With my thanks to EDC President Greg Bedalov, from his quarterly presentation to council: where our sales tax revenue comes from, why we’re in a budget vise that’s sqeezing us hard, and what’s being done to ease the pain…

Zeigler Automotive adds new dealership in Downers Grove. Greg Bedalov, EDC President, chalks up another win for DG, announcing today that the Harold Zeigler Automotive Group, founded in 1975 and listed as one of the top automotive groups in the country by Ward’s Dealer Business, will be opening a brand new Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership [...]

Last Tuesday was meeting number four for long range budget planning (see reports of meetings one, two, and three here).  Led by Village Manager Dave Fieldman, staff laid out various possible options for revenue enhancement and expense trimming in response to the budget crunch that has already seen layoffs, unpaid furloughs, pay freezes, and cost [...]

Union picketers have taken to the sidewalk at the site of the new Larson Eye Center, currently  under construction on the corner of Warren and Forest avenues. Judging from their signs, the brick workers are unhappy that they aren’t earning the prevailing wage for their work. After googling the DuPage County Prevailing Wage for July [...]

Champaign’s $96,000 study identifies tax surplus generating development. A buddy downstate emailed me this study, noting one other blogger already has written about it.  His point; there’s a temptation to simply do what generates surplus income for the municipality.

Staff comes up with another targeted Redevelopment Agreement Tuesday for a downtown grocer. By creating a separate entity, The Lemon Tree, Inc., both the village and Michael’s Fresh Market get what they want.  

DuPage County has been seeking the ability to do whatever it wants to when it comes to developing real estate, under the cover of “affordable workforce housing” and “by right” use. Despite opposition from every community that is aware of it, the county continues to push this potential program towards their goal.