The following is the legal notification sent to the 50 plus neighbors of St. James regarding zoning changes.
Click on the photocopy to enlarge:
The narrative from St. James’ project engineer, Arc Design. Note the large number of requested variances.
There are eight variances being requested.
The following is taken from the May 24, 2013 Boone County Journal which is available free of cost at merchants across the county and on line at: http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2013/Boone-County-News-05-24-13.pdf#page=1
At $1.1 trillion, student debt eclipses all other forms of household debt, except for home mortgages. It's also the only kind of consumer debt that has increased since the onset of the financial crisis, according to the New York Fed. Officials in Washington are worried that overly indebted student borrowers are unable to save enough to purchase a home, take out loans for new cars, start a business or save enough for their retirement.
Policymakers also are worried about the effect that high interest rates on outstanding student debt may have on the broader economy. Congress sets interest rates on federal student loans, with rates fixed on the majority of loans at 6.8 and 7.9 percent
State of Illinois is holding more than a 100 lost or forgotten military medals in its vaults under the capitol and is trying to return them to the families of veterans.
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is asking people to take a moment over Memorial Day weekend to see if they recognize the names on a list of veterans whose military honors are held by the state.
Click on the following if you can help: Dan Rutherford - Illinois State Treasurer
By BRETT ROWLAND -
The fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in McHenry County was $958 in 2012, according to the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice study. That would require earning $38,320 a year – or about $18 an hour – to afford without spending more than the recommended 30 percent of income on housing
….
From 2000 to 2009, the county lost nearly a third of its housing units that cost less than $500 a month. During the same period, the number of units renting for more than $1,000 a month increased by nearly 200 percent, according to the housing study…..
High property taxes and limited space for affordable developments have contributed to the county’s dearth of affordable housing.
The annual median property-tax levy for a home at the county’s median value is nearly $5,000, or 6 percent of median household income, according the study. Only 30 other counties in the country have a higher property tax as percentage of median income, according to the report
Click on the following for more details Northwest Herald | McHenry County continues to lack affordable housing
Thirty-five of the 51 taxing bodies – 68 percent – asked for more money than they did last year while just 14 asked for less, according to a Rockford Register Star analysis. Two entities were unchanged.
Here’s a look at two compelling rising and falling tax trends in the county, and the reasons behind those changes.
BELVIDERE TOWNSHIP
Township leaders gave residents a financial break this year by drastically lowering property taxes by more than 15 percent.
BELVIDERE
A 2012 computing error that cost Belvidere leaders hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax revenue will hit residents’ wallets this year.
The city only received $4.1 million of its $4.3 million levy request last year. Leaders expected to receive the full amount since it was no longer under tax caps.
To make up for the shortfall, officials agreed to levy the lost $202,000 and an additional $140,000 to cover this cycle’s expenses.
Click on the following for all of the details: Taxes go way up and way down in 2 Boone County taxing districts - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
