Aurora will received a $5,000 grant from Landmarks Illinois through the organization’s Preservation Heritage Fund and the Landmarks Illinois World War I Monument Preservation programs to help repair monuments on the New York Street Bridge.Media)

AURORA

Police announce major seizure of weapons, drugs, cash

A special operations sting by the Aurora Police Department and the Illinois Department of Corrections on Nov. 7 netted what police are calling a “major seizure of weapons, drugs, cash and jewelry.”

According to an APD Facebook post, felony charges were authorized by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office against Terrell Alvarez, 23, of the 1300 block of Solfisburg Avenue, in connection with the seizure.

Around 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, members of the APD’s Special Operations Group and IDOC officials showed up at Alvarez’s home to assure he was in compliance with terms of his parole and they saw several guns and drugs in plain view.

They then secured a search warrant for the residence and seized the following items: firearms and ammunition, plus cocaine, heroin, cannabis, Ecstasy and Xanax pills. Cash and jewelry was also seized.

Alvarez was charged with five counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and eight counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Three of the drug charges are classified as “Super-X” felonies and call for enhanced prison time upon conviction. He was also charged with a parole violation from the Department of Corrections.

Alvarez is being held in the Kane County lockup in lieu of $500,000 bail.

The charges are not proof of guilt. Alvarez is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which it is the burden of the State to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

AURORA

Online voting support could fund free concerts downtown

A series of free, live outdoor concerts could be coming to downtown Aurora for Summer 2019 if online voters support an initiative by the Fox Valley Music Foundation and the city of Aurora.

The project has been named one of 25 finalists for the 2019 Levitt AMP [Your City] Music Series. The Levitt AMP program will provide $25,000 to up to 15 of the finalists, allowing them to offer a 10-week series of concerts featuring multiple styles of music.

An online voting process will help Levitt AMP select the winners. Residents are encouraged to vote for the Fox Valley Music Foundation concert series at https://grant.levittamp.org/voter-registration-page/.

Online voting is open now through Nov. 20.

The Aurora concert series would be held in the newly improved Agnes Mundy Park, in the 0-100 block of South Broadway. Mundy Park, which stretches from Broadway to the Water Street Mall, is undergoing renovations which include new trees, new plantings and a small tiered area for seating. 

Mundy Park runs alongside the Fox Valley Music Foundation’s soon-to-open Aurora music center, called The Venue. Located at 21 S. Broadway in Aurora.

The Venue is a new music performance space and home to the Fox Valley Music Foundation. The concept of the space is to provide regularly scheduled programming featuring intimate performances by international, national and local musical artists, educational programs about music history, interactive workshops and clinics, open jams and a meeting place for musicians to collaborate and create.

GENEVA

Reproduction of famous Lincoln portrait coming

A high-quality reproduction of a famous Abraham Lincoln photograph will be presented to the Kane County Courthouse on Monday, Nov. 19. The unveiling ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. in the courthouse, 100 South Third St., Geneva. The event is open to the public.

The photograph was taken in Springfield by well-known photographer Alexander Hesler on June 3, 1860, for Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign. Historians consider Hesler’s portrait one of the best taken of Lincoln during his pre-presidential years.

The permanent installation is made possible by donations from the Illinois Judges Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and their respective foundations – the Illinois Judges Foundation and the Illinois Bar Foundation.

Printed on canvas, the image of the beardless Lincoln is encased in a richly stained wood frame and measures 30-inches wide by 40-inches tall.

The four organizations are partnering with the Illinois State Historical Society, which owns the glass-plate positives of the Hesler-Lincoln portrait. The ISHS is leading a statewide campaign to place a framed copy in a courthouse in each of Illinois’ 102 counties in commemoration of the state’s bicentennial this year.

KANE COUNTY

Redevelopment sought for former Fabyan jail site

Kane County has announced “a unique redevelopment opportunity” for the 39.7-acre former Kane County Jail site on Fabyan Parkway.

The Fabyan Road Kane County Property formally housed the County Jail and Juvenile Justice Facility that have been demolished. Now, county officials are examining opportunities to develop the site.

The county has posted a Request for Qualifications to solicit information from developers, who in conjunction with their development teams, are capable of redeveloping the area (or portions thereof) with one or more high-quality projects.

“Successful redevelopment will reflect market conditions, economic realities, and support community development within the context of the community and neighborhood settings,” according to the RFQ.

The deadline for questions is Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. Sealed RFQ responses are due in the Kane County Purchasing Department by 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Prospective development teams are invited to submit a Statement of Qualifications detailing comparable project experience, projected property valuation of the subject property and a project concept

statement/plan that includes an anticipated financing structure to highlight your development ideas for the redevelopment of the site.

The redevelopment opportunity sites are properties owned by the county.

The county is putting out the call to action so that officials can “fully understand the market potential of this land and to determine the market value of the land.”

–Kane County News Briefs–