Chicago-Midwest

Robbins, Illinois Quarry Project STILL ON ??!!

Robbins, Illinois Quarry Project STILL ON ??!!

 

Robbins, Illinois residents still face the threat of eminent domain to over 100 families,  ROBBINS, ILLINOIS RESIDENTS ARE NOT GETTING THE TRANSPARENCY on the future of Robbins, Illinois as it relates to the legitimacy of this uncertain Quarry Development Project!! What the Robbins Village Board not saying is clear as to what they are quieting saying.



This will not be a major election piece in the upcoming elections but in my judgement  the citizens of Robbins Illinois are getting the indirect answers of the local officials regarding this proposed Quarry and its legality to even move forward!!. Clearly what the Village Board has chosen NOT to bring back up for a vote, makes it clear that the Quarry Project is STILL alive and strategically moving forward.


Current Village officials voted to VOID a contract from a prior board for the Quarry developer, but they never brought up any kind of vote to void the development itself  which means that the development is still alive.  Village officials who wont talk much "on the record:" are continuing to leave the issue of eminent domain on 100 families STILL on the books!  And again, the Quarry development project itself has never been brought back for any kind of public review or any new major economic development projects to replace the proposed quarry.


I know that there are the people of Robbins who should be frustrated with not getting a clear and transparent message on the Quarry project, but I still say that the Village Board may not have direct answer as some stakeholders would like but I remain that the answer is really right there.  Just ask yourself he question -- WHY would the Village would to void a developer for the project BUT STILL  leave The Quarry concept AND eminent domain on the books if not that the project is still on the books and the Board just seeking another developer to continue?

In December 2011, various interest groups began attempting to push legislation that would have resulted in a limestone quarry in Robbins, IL. With the approv...
EXCELLENT ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION DONE BY EXTENSIVE REPORT  IN CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND SOUTHTOWN STAR NEWSPAPER COLUMN

Robbins residents dig in against proposed quarry

Village Board votes to void agreement, but developer cites 'binding' contract

June 25, 2014|By Annie Sweeney, Tribune reporter
  • Shirley Howard, 78, resists a quarry in Robbins. “My house is like any other house. It means everything,” she said.
Shirley Howard, 78, resists a quarry in Robbins. “My house is like any other house. It means everything,” she said. (Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune)
It was a grand plan for tiny Robbins: a massive quarry and mining operation, a therapeutic horse farm and parks, development along the channelicon1.png, maybe even a chain drugstore and new housing.
The project, as laid out in three phases, would consume about a third of the town and require the acquisition of 52 occupied homes and about 100 other properties, radically changing the historic village of about 5,000 residents that has struggled with a weak tax base, lack of jobs and other social ills.
But three years after the proposal was brought to the village, a spirited revolt developed among Robbins residents that led to an investigation by the Cook County sheriff's inspector general, both of which stalled the plan.
At a meeting Tuesday night, the Village Board voted 5-1 to void a redevelopment agreement that Robbins officials had signed in May 2013 promising to help the developericon1.png acquire the needed land. The village last year also had approved ordinances that allowed for eminent domain and so-called quick-take legislation to expedite the acquisition of land.
Paul Stewart, a representative of the developer, ALM Resources, said he believes ALM has a "legally binding" agreement with Robbins. Contacted after the vote, Stewart said he did not know that the quarry was even on the agenda Tuesday and declined to discuss what his firm would do.
Mayor Tyrone Ward said after the meeting that the developer could either fight to hold the village to the contract or come back with a new plan. Ward has said he would listen to the will of the residents — though he had remained open to the idea of a quarry because of the potential financialicon1.png gain.
Trustee Lynnie Johnson, who sponsored the measure to void the agreement, said he opposed the project because residents were not involved and because of fears the struggling town wouldn't see enough financial reward. He plans to keep fighting.
"Some things are worth fighting for," he said.
As opposition mounted in the community, the developersicon1.png did not give up the project but narrowed their focus to the quarry, insisting that it plays to Robbins' strengths — proximity to transportation and a buried natural resource.
"That is a perfect place to punch a hole in the ground and bring out natural resourcesicon1.png that can bring revenue to the community," Stewart said. "It's almost too simple."
Not so for Robbins residents, who by now could have been beaten down by decades of blight, meager government servicesicon1.png and economic malaise. Their last big development — an incinerator — closed in 2000 amid environmental opposition. Instead, the residents still exhibited a fierce desire to defend their land.
"Oh yeah, baby, we can win," Shirley Howard, 78, a retired nurse, said after residents recently packed 200-strong into a school auditorium for a quarry meeting. "Because once you wake a sleeping giant, you in trouble. And these people are sleeping giants who have been awakened. When I saw that crowd the other night, I said, 'It's on.' Ain't no castles — my house is like any other house. It means everything."
The boundaries for the quarry portion of the project were roughly 135th Street on the north, 137th Street on the south, Kedzie Avenue on the west and Sacramento Avenue on the east. The quarry footprint is mostly vacant land but includes a house, a multiunit building, a scrap yard and seven vacant properties, Stewart said.
The footprint of the full project stretched west to Pulaski for a portion, north to the Cal-Sag Channel and as far south as 143rd Street.
Jim Louthen, a landscape architect and original developer of the quarry project, helped design a Metra station in Robbins in the early 2000s. His professionalicon1.png focus has shifted over the years to tackling a tricky problem: helping struggling communities redevelop.
"So many communities throughout our country suffer from the same characteristics that plague Robbins," said Louthen, who is no longer involved in the project. "That condition is very difficult if not impossible to reverse the trajectory. And that's what this development is all about."
Louthen formed ALM Resources in 2012, a year after he brought his plan to Robbins.
The precious mineral underneath Robbins is dolomite, a magnesium-rich limestone that when crushed and processed is sold to pave highways or for use in private construction. A much larger Thornton quarry, about 8 miles southeast of Robbins, produces the same material.
"It's a very important commodity," said Don Mikulic, a senior paleontologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey. "The per capita use of crushed stones is thousands of pounds per person. It's significant."
Quarries in the region date to the 1830s, but over the years they were pushed out as Chicago and Cook County were built up.
page 2 of 3

Robbins residents dig in against proposed quarry

Village Board votes to void agreement, but developer cites 'binding' contract

June 25, 2014|By Annie Sweeney, Tribune reporter
The upside to developing a quarry so close to the city is reduced transportation costs, which could make the product attractive to buyers. The idea of blasting may sound troubling, but Mikulic said there are no immediate health concerns connected to quarries and there typically is one major boom a day.
Mikulic was invited by the residents who oppose the quarry to address the village. That they invited him, as opposed to the village government, highlights what was the first and perhaps biggest concern among residents: lack of information about such a massive project.
Louthen and Stewart insist there were several special meetings, outside regular board meetings, at which representatives explained the plan. They also did mailings.
But longtime residents Sharon and David Dyson, who helped organize the fight against the project, said that by the time they were invited to a meeting in August 2013, it sounded as though things were moving forward. And they and several neighbors knew no details.
At that meeting, David Dyson recalls hearing a representative of the project talk about tunneling and a five-year build-out and finally about how residents in the affected area would be getting an offer "in 60 days."
"That sent my antennas up," he said. "I figured we had 60 days to get to the bottom of this."
The couple and about 10 other concerned residents set out to track down documents and information and spread the word. They inquired about tours of existing quarries. They approached state representatives and heard that there was a lobbyist in Springfield pushing quick-take legislation for the project, David Dyson said. Three property owners whose land would have been seized started meeting with the Dysons at one of the locations — Greater Christian Unity Church, which they came to call "ground zero."
By December, they had formed the United Citizens of Robbins.
"I've become a spy, a news writer, a letter writer," Sharon Dyson said. "I've learned how to use the post office. We have learned all kinds of lessons here. Not that I wanted to, but I was forced to."
Sheriff Tom Dart got involved in October after his office received an anonymous tip, officials said. Dart was already providing support in Robbins because of complaints of mismanagement in the Police Department.
An investigation by the sheriff's inspector general found there had been a lack of notice and explanation to residents regarding the plan's details and also pointed to the rapid pace of the project, including an effort to secure quick-take approval from the General Assembly.
"The office could find no necessity for such a hurried and inscrutable strategy," the inspector general's report said.
The document also raised questions about whether the village had adequate legal representation during the negotiation and whether the developer had shown enough proof there would be sufficient financial reward for Robbins in the deal.
The report called for a renegotiation of the development agreement and a temporary halt to the project, and Robbins agreed to that in December.
Dart's office has not taken a position on the project, saying it is a decision for Robbins residents and surrounding towns — which he said were not aware of the plan either.
"Clearly something of this nature you can't do in the dead of night," Dart said in an interview.
When asked about the sheriff's conclusions, Stewart called ALM's proposed quarterly royalty payments to the village "generous." He pointed to other financial benefits of the plan: boosting the tax base, developing vacant land, jobs and drawing other businesses to Robbins.
Ward, a trustee when the agreement was approved, agreed with Stewart that there is potential benefit.
"There is an upside," he said. "Financially, economically. It's something that if done right could potentially bring more jobs. More importantly, it could attract other businesses also.
"If it's harmful and it's not right for the citizens, then it will not happen," the mayor said.
When asked why so many residents apparently didn't know about the plan, Ward said he was an "outsider" in the previous administration.
Earlier this month, residents concerned about whether the project could move forward invited Dart to present his department's report. The number of people who turned up to listen surprised Dart and his staff.
At the meeting, comments from the crowd ranged from conspiracy theories to fears about the grand scope of the project.
"As far as I can see, Robbins won't be here," said Margaret Lanton, whose family has had a home in town for decades. "They will take the whole city."
Residents resolved to form an email list and talked about getting to committee meetings, where many details are hammered out.
Stewart said he remained hopeful that residents could be convinced of the opportunities presented by the plan.
"I am thankful that that many people are interested or even concerned," he said. "I can almost embrace the emotion behind it."

(Page 3 of 3)

Robbins residents dig in against proposed quarry

Village Board votes to void agreement, but developer cites 'binding' contract

June 25, 2014|By Annie Sweeney, Tribune report
Inside her brick home that has been in the family since for decades, Howard reflected on how the community responded. She is now active at Robbins' small but proud history museumicon1.png and also recently helped with a library Father's Day event that celebrated famous men of Robbins.
Howard said the quarry project would bring tunneling under her homeicon1.png. But that's not what worries her — it's about the village.
"This is the one of the oldest black historical communities," she said. "We have the first black airport. The embryonic stages of the Tuskegee Airmen came out of this community. … We've got so many medical doctors and nursesicon1.png that came from this community. It's just too many great things."
A thunderstorm rolled through town Tuesday night during the meeting, but after the vote to void the contract, a brilliant rainbow formed over Robbins.
"And a rainbow," David Dyson said with a smile as he stepped outside.
But he and others acknowledged the storms might not go away that easily.
asweeney@tribune



Kadner: Sheriff asks Robbins to suspend quarry deal

The building right is listed address for ALM Resources LLC 50 Forest Avenue Riverside IL. The Cook County Sheriff
The building on the right is the listed address for ALM Resources, LLC, 50 Forest Avenue in Riverside, IL. The Cook County Sheriff expressed concern to Robbins that a development company that wants to operate a limestone quarry and underground mine is headquartered in an apartment building. Actually, the building is condominiums. | Phil Kadner~Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: December 9, 2013 10:44AM


Political contributions to elected officials and “vague, misleading contract terms” are among the reasons Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart cited for asking Robbins to “suspend” its development of a limestone quarry.
In a letter to Mayor Tyrone Ward delivered Tuesday, Dart asked the village to immediately “cease and desist” efforts to acquire land through quick-take legislation.
Dart, whose office launched an investigation into the proposed development last week, states in his letter to Ward that his office has turned up “significant areas of concerns” about the village’s contract with ALM Resources LLC.
“While the village desperately needs a revenue stream,” Dart notes, a royalty schedule set forth in a May 7, 2013, Acquisitions and Development Agreement is “vague, misleading and uncertain.”
Specifically, the sheriff notes that ALM would receive 95 percent of the gross revenue generated for several years after the quarry is fully operational, “but ALM is not required to make any payments to the village until IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) has agreed to the use of aggregate products in IDOT construction projects.’”
Under the terms of the contract, Dart states, “the village will receive no revenues if they breach any terms of the Agreement.”
SouthtownStar staff writer Casey Toner revealed last month that the project would put control of 320 acres, more than 20 percent of Robbins’ land, into a private-public partnership that includes ALM Resources, the village and Rib Mountain Aggregate.
The initial phase of the industrial project would include a limestone quarry, but it later would include a large underground mine beneath existing homes and businesses and also asphalt and ready-mix plants.
The village would use its power of eminent domain to take control of the 320 acres and turn it over to the developer through the public-private partnership, called Robbins Resources.
In his letter to the mayor, Dart notes that ALM and persons and entities related to ALM made multiple contributions to the political committees of village officials, a detail first reported in the SouthtownStar.
Under the provisions of the contract with ALM, Dart indicates that Robbins would have to take “all actions reasonably necessary to obtain quick-take legislation” to authorize an expedited process to take and demolish about 50 homes.
Darts asks village officials to “cease and desist” any efforts to introduce a quick-take bill in the Legislature “during the pendency of the investigation.”
He specifically cites eight areas of concern about the agreement between Robbins and ALM.
They include a $100,000 ALM escrow payment to reimburse the village for costs associated with the introduction and passage of quick-take legislation, and a provision that ALM “shall approve any and all consultants involved with the required quick-take legislation.”
“ALM’s main office appears to be an apartment in Riverside,” the sheriff states, including a photograph of the building.
Dart raises questions about Rib Mountain Aggregate, which is to manage day-to-day mining operations of the quarry site. He says its address is listed as 703 Childs in Wheaton, “but the company is not listed on the buildings’ signage. Rib Mountain Aggregate’s phone number is answered by the Will Group, a parent company whose project list does not contain any mining projects.”
The sheriff also notes that a “provision within the contract prohibits any party from ‘challenging the validity of the contract,’ and the contract also requires the village to notify ALM of any requests made for public information related to the proposed development.
Cara Smith, a spokeswoman for Dart who worked as an assistant Illinois attorney general for several years, told me, “I have read a lot of legal documents over the years but never seen anything like this one.”
Dart opened an investigation into the Robbins development plan after stories appeared in the SouthtownStar and a local resident called his inspector general’s office. Dart created the office of inspector general this year to assist suburban residents concerned about political corruption.
Early this year, after unprocessed rape kits, some dating to nearly 30 years ago, were found in the Robbins police evidence room, Dart held a town hall meeting with Robbins residents to announce that sheriff’s police would be patrolling the streets and assisting in criminal investigations.
Of particular interest to me is why former Mayor Irene Brodie was asked to sign the development agreement with ALM. By May 7, voters in Robbins had elected Ward as the new mayor, and he was about to take office. Brodie had announced months earlier she would not seek re-election.
For months before that, residents and others close to Brodie had questioned whether her elderly age had diminished her mental abilities. And despite questions raised at public forums, she has not issued a public statement since the development deal came to light.
In my experience, any newly elected mayor would normally howl in protest if a lame-duck mayor signed a major development deal. While Ward was a village trustee prior to becoming mayor and voted in favor of the plan, it seems strange that he wouldn’t want to be the mayor signing it and claiming the credit.
Village officials lobbied state Reps. Robert Rita (D-Blue Island) and Will Davis (D-Hazel Crest) to pass quick-take legislation during the fall veto session of the General Assembly. Rita and Davis initially expressed interest but backed off after newspaper stories and public protests escalated.
ALM officials claim Robbins would eventually receive $140 million in royalty payments and property and sales tax revenue from the development.
Dart’s investigation is continuing. And that’s a very good thing.




marksallen2800@aol.com
Chairman & COO National Black Wall Street Chicago
(Rev. Willie T. Barrow Consumer Education and Consumer Action Project)
Founder/Lead Organizer, Illinois Voter Restoration Civic Education Project
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Chicago, Illinois 60653
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