BURGESS HONORED FOR DECADE OF DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

DERRICK BURGESS (center) receives honors for 10 years of
Service to Sauk Village.  From Left: Nathan Griffin- SVCPA,
Tammy Jones- SD168, Rita Kueny- Former Trustee, Burgess
Sharon Davenport- SD168, Judy Cast - PLAN and
Philip Bazile- President School District 168

SAUK VILLAGE |  Residents and community leaders turned out Wednesday evening to Trustee Derrick Burgess' monthly Town Hall Meeting, but the tables were soon turned on Burgess.  As people began to arrive Burgess began to increasingly became surprised and soon knew there was a plan underfoot.  As Burgess started his Town Hall Meeting, fellow Trustee Cecial Tates came to the podium and took over as the plot began to unfold.  Burgess soon discovered there would be no Town Hall Meeting, but found out instead that he was being honored for serving 10 years as a Village Trustee.

Community leaders Nathan Griffin, who serves as president of the Sauk Village Citizens for Public Awareness and Judy Cast who serves as president of People Looking for Answers Now (P.L.A.N) both congratulated Burgess and thanked him for his service to the people of Sauk Village during the presentation.

Former Trustee Rita Kueny, whose seat Burgess was appointed, spoke during the event.  "At the time he was appointed, I think Derrick actually attended more Village meetings than most of the elected officials".  Kueny recommended Burgess for her seat on the Village Board before her resignation.  "I don't think I would have resigned if he (former Mayor Roger Peckham) didn't appoint Derrick" Kueny said.  Burgess was appointed to Kueny's seat by Peckham on June 13, 2006, was re-elected in 2007, 2011 and by the biggest majority in 2015.

Former Trustee Joseph Wiszowaty also congratulated Burgess for his service.  "Derrick has the passion and resolve that very few officials have.  Derrick Burgess truly loves Sauk Village" Wiszowaty said.

School District 168 Board President Philip Bazile, Vice President Marva Campbell-Pruitt, along with Board Members Tammy Jones, Sharon Davenport and Jimo Kasali were on hand to present a Resolution to Burgess for his 10 years of "unwavering support for Community Consolidated School District 168".  Campbell-Pruitt read the resolution during the presentation.

State Representatives Elgie Sims, Marcus Evans and Thaddeaus Jones were unable to attend,

Trustee Cecial Tates presents the Resolution of the
Illinois House of Representatives to Trustee Burgess

however, they wrote Resolution 1318 of the Illinois House of Representatives expressing their esteem and appreciation for Burgess' 10 years of service to the people of Sauk Village.  Tates read the resolution followed by a standing ovation as Tates presented it to Burgess.

Former Mayors Roger Peckham and Lewis Towers, sent their regards but sent their written congratulatory cards via Trustee Tates.

"I'm very sorry I was unable to attend due to my schedule, however, I want to congratulate and thank Trustee Derrick Burgess for his ten years of service" Former Trustee Francine Anderson said.

After receiving 2 plaques of "distinguished service" from the people of Sauk Village, Burgess was finally allowed to speak. He thanked his "best friend" and wife, Juanita and acknowledged his 4 children Arleta, Derrick Jr., Steven and Erika and 4 of his 14 grandchildren that were present.  Derrick Jr. called from North Carolina during the presentation to congratulate his father.  It was a very moving moment.

Juanita Burgess (center) wife of
Trustee Derrick Burgess looks on as
her husband Derrick addresses the
audience during the presentation.

"I was completely surprised by all of this, I had no idea" Burgess said.  "I am truly honored and humbled to serve the people of Sauk Village".

A host of family and friends presented Trustee Burgess with a dinner reception held at the Paesel Community Center immediately following the presentation.


A Bright Spot Offers Economic Development Opportunity

Copyright 2014 Sauk Villager News; all rights reserved.

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  Many in and around Sauk Village may not see the economic growth in terms of new job opportunities, many tend to see only what is in front of them, not what may be off the "beaten path".  There is a diamond in the rough in Sauk Village and one they can be proud to boast about.

The LogistiCenter Business Park at Sauk Village is a 325-acre Class A business park, bounded by Illinois state highway 394 on the east, Cottage Grove Avenue on the west, Sauk Trail on the south and the CN on the north. Located within the heavy industrial Calumet Expressway Corridor, the park has immediate access to IL-394 and is within six miles of I-80/I-94, making it one of the areas most desirable location for serving the tri-state area of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.to the west of Illinois 394 and Sauk Trail began to grow wings as the economy was in full throttle until 2008.  

Despite the economic downturn the opportunities are huge for Sauk Village and possible Industrial development.

What was once nothing but the field belonging to Vincent Sauter back in the 1840s is now home to WinPak a worldwide maker of the “K-Cups” one might use every day in the Keurig coffee maker and a warehouse facility for Behr Paint.

The equalized value of the land in 1994, when the Tax Increment Financing District was first begun was a messily $281,916 generating roughly about $30,000 in property taxes.  Today the equalized value of the property is over $21,500,000 according to the office of the Cook County Clerk (the actually value is significantly higher) and generates $2,977,687.25 each year in property tax revenue for the village.  

So where is all that property tax money going some may wonder?  Well first there are those pesky bonds to pay!  The bonds were taken out to make all of the necessary infrastructure improvements necessary to get this multi-million dollar project off the ground.  Streets, water, sewer mains and of course rail access something many communities can envy.  Sauk Village's port to the world is now open with the Canadian National Railway offering rail service to the LogistiCenter.

Wayne Steel was the first business to move into the outskirts of the property in the late 1990s.  Former Mayor Roger Peckham inherited what seemed like a “boondoggle” when he became Mayor in 1997.  By 2000, the Village had lost an inter-modal facility and things didn’t seem too rosy for the property the village was now owner and it began to weigh on Peckham's shoulders.

Peckham through marketing connections brought in Dermody Properties/DP Partners to develop the “LogistiCenter at Sauk Village” in March of 2005.  Since that time, Dermody Properties/DP Partners has developed three facilities totaling 1,531,630 square feet.  When completed, the 325-acre LogistiCenter Business Park will accommodate approximately 5,000,000 square feet of high-cube distribution and manufacturing space and attract between 500 and 1,500 jobs to the Southland Region.

LogistiCenter Business Park at Sauk Village offers the maximum in facility flexibility. Build-to-suit buildings are custom designed to meet the most demanding specifications of users. Dermody Properties/DP Partners is also developing single- or multi-tenant speculative buildings for immediate occupancy. All facilities in the park are built to Class A quality specifications, designed to protect the investment of tenants, the owner/developer, and the Village of Sauk Village.

The LogistiCenter had begun bringing in tax revenue to cover the cost of the bonds issued in 2002 for the initial improvements.   Property tax revenues increased in 2005 to $422,778 far less than the Sauk Pointe Industrial Park which seemed to reach its pinnacle.  By 2006, property tax revenue took off to $1,197,884 as additional development started up.  

By the end of Roger Peckham’s term in office in 2009, property tax revenues that year $2,074,000.  Peckham had some loose ends to tie up and negotiating on one of these was the Village’s long-time attorney Louis Vitullo.  Peckham credits Vitullo for landing the WinPak project for Sauk Village before he left office.  Peckham's creativity and vision for the LogisiCenter helped it take flight, during some good economic times despite the debt left behind, the financial picture of the LogistiCenter is very strong and revenues are more than adequate to cover the long-term debt service.  Peckham, Vitullo and Mary Thomspon from Kane, McKenna and Associates, Inc and the others involved with the creation of the Tax Increment Financing District set it up for long-term success.

Lewis Towers came to office ill prepared for the enormous financial debacle that was unfolding in the world economy, let alone the small tiny microcosm of Sauk Village.  With the reduction in state revenues and the shortfall of revenue anticipated from the Logisticenter Development, Towers faced a massive $1 million budget short-fall for the first time in the Village’s history.

Turnover in the Village’s finance department and within Towers’ administration exacerbated matters.  Towers’ fell out of political favor quickly with this fellow running mates and his supporters turned on him and blamed him for the financial woe and mismanagement.

On May 4, 2011, Governor Patrick Quinn’s office announced a $1.6 million business investment package for WinPak to help fund the new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which complimented the company’s $30 million investment for land, building and equipment.
.  “Sauk Village is a good fit in these times as most communities are losing jobs, especially in the area of manufacturing. We welcome this opportunity to bring economic development to our community,” Towers said following Quinn’s announcement.

Plans were finalized by WinPak and they broke ground in September, 2011 on a multi-million dollar new facility.  WinPak’s new facility would be a massive 267,000 square foot which is expandable to up to 600,000 square feet with rail access on 28 acres.  

Lewis Towers was elated when WinPak was completed and the village then recovered monies from the company for the start up costs in 2012.  Many businesses through the tough economic times have still looked at Sauk Village because of their desire to work with their developer and the businesses as well.  The lack of business capital during the financial crisis made start up capital a bit tougher to get, but things have since begun to improve.  

Since WinPak completed construction, there have been no new construction within the LogistiCenter, but the opportunities and economic incentives are available.  Dawn Foods was considering locating in Sauk Village in early 2013, however, choose to move to Merrillville and built a brand new state-of-the-art facility but Sauk Village was definitely a contender for the multi-million dollar project.

Sauk Village has a long history of welcoming business opportunities.  Mayor David Hanks and the Village of Sauk Village are playing host to the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation’s Quarterly Forum on January 24^th at the Sauk Village Hall.  

The Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation is a not-for-profit which works with municipalities, the private sector, utilities and other groups to analyze regional economic development factors, business clusters, and development corridors to identify significant development opportunities and market those sites to the private sector. 

Original material copyright 2014 Sauk Villager News; all rights reserved.