BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO) — Chipotle may be coming to Belvidere, along with a new Starbucks location.
Developer MH Bradley LLC., of Kankakee, has filed an Application for Special Use with the city to buy and raze the Dodge Lanes bowling alley, at 1940 N. State Street, to make way for the two restaurants and a third, future operator.
The entire story at: Is Chipotle coming to Belvidere?
By Jason Meisner | jmeisner@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune
UPDATED: December 12, 2024 at 3:00 PM CST
President Joe Biden on Thursday commuted the sentences of two of the Chicago area’s most notorious fraudsters: former Dixon Comptroller Rita Crundwell, who embezzled nearly $54 million from the tiny town to fund a lavish lifestyle, and Eric Bloom, the onetime leader of a Northbrook management firm who defrauded investors of more than $665 million.
The decisions in the clemency petitions for Crundwell and Bloom were announced by the White House as part of a massive list of some 39 pardons and 1,499 commutations. Biden’s orders do not wipe out their felony convictions, but end their sentences immediately.
The White House said the commutations were for people released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic.
Crundwell, 71, pleaded guilty in 2012 to what authorities then called the largest municipal fraud in the country’s history, admitting she stole $53.7 million from the city over more than a decade and used the money to finance her quarter horse business and lavish lifestyle.
She was sentenced in 2013 to nearly 20 years in federal prison. In April 2020, Crundwell had petitioned a federal judge for early compassionate release based on her poor health and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have done everything in my power to be a ‘model inmate.’ To work as hard as I can and have never complained about my conditions here or the pay we receive,” Crundwell wrote. “There is never a day that goes by, I do not regret my crime.”
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She’d served about eight years behind bars before being released in 2021 to a halfway house in Downers Grove, U.S. Bureau of Prisons records show. Crundwell would have completed her sentence in October 2028.
Bloom, meanwhile, the onetime head of Sentinel Management Group, was convicted by a jury in 2012 in what was billed by prosecutors at the time as the largest single financial fraud in the history of Chicago’s federal court.
December 9, 2024 at 12:39 pm Kevin Haas
BELVIDERE — A new community solar project that brings more than 9,600 panels to a former landfill along Illinois Route 76 will benefit small businesses and Boone County government facilities with energy savings.
Representatives of power utility ComEd, solar developer Ameresco, the Illinois Commerce Commission and Boone County officials gathered Monday morning to celebrate the project as it wraps up its final installations before going online.
“In addition to the environmental benefits, this project will help support both the local government and the local economy,” said Gil Quiniones, president and CEO of ComEd. “Given the project was built on the site of a former landfill, this is also an example of promoting sustainable land use.”
The former landfill, which was closed in 1992, is near the northeast corner of Illinois Route 76 and Squaw Prairie Road north of the Boone County Fairgrounds. The last couple hundred of 9,658 panels on 34 acres of land are being installed now. The total generation capacity will be 3.5 megawatts.
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Community solar projects allow for subscribers to benefit from energy savings generated by the solar array, which is connected to the ComEd energy grid. Subscribers earn credits on their electric bill and can see their costs reduced by up to 10% annually, according to ComEd.
All subscriptions for this project are now filled, said Paul Raducha, senior director of solar development for Ameresco.
“A lot of counties should look at their landfills and brownfields and access that,” he said. “It’s a really logical move for the development of solar on land, and it’s providing them with income.”
A new community solar project features more than 9,600 panels on a former landfill along Illinois Route 76 north of Squaw Prairie Road in Boone County. It’s shown on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
Boone County is subscribing to approximately 36% of the energy generated, supporting county facilities including animal services, public safety and corrections. There are also multiple small- and mid-sized local businesses subscribing, Quiniones said.
“I realize that mid-December may seem like a funny time to celebrate a solar project, but these solar panels can still generate electricity in freezing temperatures and even when they’re covered by a light layer of snow,” he said. “The transition to a lower carbon energy system will only succeed if we are able to continue to deliver power reliably and in a way that is resilient to severe weather conditions.”
There are now 160 active community solar sites in ComEd’s 11,400-square-mile region serving more than 30,000 customers, Quiniones said.
This solar project has been in the works since 2017, when it was initiated by former County Administrator Ken Terrinoni, said Karl Johnson, chairman of the Boone County Board. It broke ground in August after years of preparations.
Boone County will benefit from the revenue it generates through property taxes and land-use agreements, as well as about $20,000 a year in savings on energy costs, Johnson said.
Most importantly, Johnson said, the project made productive use of a former landfill rather than being built on farmland.
“We’ve been able to bring all the things to our community without taking quality farmland out of production,” Johnson said. “Boone County is a farming community and we take the use of our farmland very seriously.
“We encourage the state to look to use the landfills and other brownfield locations as ideal opportunities for solar projects instead of farmland.”
ComEd and Ameresco on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, gathered to celebrate a new community solar project at Illinois Route 76 and Squaw Prairie Road in Boone County. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
Original article available with photos at: New community solar project on former Belvidere landfill benefits small businesses, local government | Rock River Current
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
Jonathan Martin
Wed, December 4, 2024 at 3:03 PM CST·5 min read
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 26: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the Rose Garden at the White House on November 26, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden spoke on the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden’s senior aides are conducting a vigorous internal debate over whether to issue preemptive pardons to a range of current and former public officials who could be targeted with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to senior Democrats familiar with the discussions.
SEE the rest of the story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-white-house-discussing-preemptive-210346549.html
