Marengo - Recognize these men?

Batzler

Tarrant

Recognize either of these two men? They were arrested in Rock County, Wisconsin and charged with burglaries. Police and sheriff's departments south of the state line are scratching their heads and wondering whether they were also involved in burglaries in Boone, Winnebago, McHenry and Ogle Counties in Illinois.

Arrested were Nicholas Jay Batzler, 32, of Loves Park and James Daniel Tarrant, 43, of Rockford.

If you recognize either of these men and have information that might connect them to any crimes, contact your law enforcement agency immediately.

Reminder: Batzler and Tarrant, like any other suspects, are presumed innocent until found guilty.

Feldkamp - reason for move back to Marengo?

Do problems run in threes?

It seems that they might for Scott Feldkamp, now of Marengo.

1. A bank settled a $6,000 debt with him in 2010 iin Florida and expects $20.00/month.
2. A bank foreclosed on his Florida home in 2010 and got a judgment for $285,000.
3. His parents died on June 7 near Marengo.

Court records in Lee County, Fla. reveal that Scott A. Feldkamp and John G. Feldkamp, of Marengo, had a mortgage on real property in Lehigh Acres, Fla. that was foreclosed on in 2010.

In January 2004 a mortgage of $139,523 was recorded in Lee County.
In October 2006 John G. Feldkamp quitclaimed the property to Scott Feldkamp.
In October 2006 a mortgage of $250,00 was recorded on the same lot in Lehigh Acres. Does such an increase in a mortgage indicate a refinancing and a large cash withdrawal against appreciated (paper) value?

As readers may know from other writings on this blog about property values in the Fall of 2006 in Lee County, Fla., that may have been just about the peak.

John G. and Audrey Feldkamp were killed in their home near Marengo (Ill.) on June 7, and Scott Feldkamp was injured. Limited reports from the McHenry County Sheriff's Department indicate that Doran Bloom, 26, had gone to the Feldkamp home. Bloom was reportedly shot and killed by Scott Feldkamp.

The owner of the gun has not yet been identified by the Sheriff's Department. Was it Scott Feldkamp's gun? Had he brought it with him from Florida? If it was his gun, had he applied for a FOID card after coming to McHenry County earlier in the year?

What was the connection between Bloom and the Feldkamps? Did Bloom know them? Had he ever been to that house before?

TIF in Marengo?

Two public hearings on new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts in Marengo, apparently originally announced for 7:00PM on Monday, February 28, have been moved up to 6:00PM.

The following email message, forwarded to me by a Marengo resident, was purportedly sent by the Marengo D-154 Superintendent. Schools have closed for the day and it is too late to verify its authenticity.

"The meeting time for the City of Marengo's Public Hearing regarding the proposed TIF districts has been changed from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  All parents are encouraged to attend the Public Hearing at City Hall on February 28, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.  The school district strongly opposes these TIFs.  Please click on the following link for more information. http://marengotif.wikispaces.com/
Thank you for your support.
Dr. Dan Bertrand
Superintendent
Marengo Community High School District 154
110 Franks Road
Marengo, IL  60152
815-568-6511 x1501"

Note the sentence, "The school district strongly opposes these TIFs."

Are school districts allowed to lobby voters and influence decisions like this? It seems to me that the Woodstock City Council had its neck in a noose a couple of years ago over support for a school initiative here.

In any event, to move up the time of a public hearing, as evidenced by the above un-dated e-mail, is a huge error. If the Public Hearings were originally announced for 7:00PM, then there will be people who saw the announcement of the 7:00PM time and who will show up then - and miss out.

The agenda on the website of the City of Marengo (http://www.cityofmarengo.com/) shows 6:00PM for the starting date of each Public Hearing. I wonder how they will manage that. The Public Hearings and the City Council meeting will be at City Hall.

Any approval of the TIFs should not occur on February 28, because neither is on the agenda of the City Council meeting at 7:00PM. But they might not let a small matter like that keep them from voting on it at the City Council meeting. Watch carefully, Marengo residents!