Northern Illinois University's $250,000 "donation" problems…Part 1 –

DeKalb, IL. (ECWd) –
This will be another multi-part story, and we believe we should point out all the players first so you can get a feel for who is playing what part.
Bear with us while we set this up to where everyone can grasp what happened:
The main players in this article are :
DeKalb 2020 LLC
College Town Partners NFP (Not For Profit)
College Town Partners LLC
Northern Illinois University (NIU)
NIU Foundation
Castle Bank
City of DeKalb
Steve Irving
Tim Struthers (newly appointed NIU board member)
NIU President Baker

Entity #1:  DeKalb 2020 LLC

This company is a collaboration between the City of DeKalb, NIU Foundation, Castle Bank and Steve Irving. Also included is a couple of letters between Tim Struthers (prospective BOT member)  an President D. Baker. (see this pdf)

Entity #2:  College Town Partners NFP

Registered and formed in 2013, this entity had the University, The NIU Foundation, Steve Irving, and Castle Bank (Tim Struthers) as members. The purpose was to be a place where money could be donated and then moved into the for profit entity – College Town Partners LLC.  The attached file contains the communication between the players, including the offer to “manage any actual conflicts of interest“. Some additional communications involved what appeared to be coordinated efforts with foreclosure of houses and their subsequent purchase by CTP, LLC. The FSB referenced in the foreclosure letter, was also an actual/proposed partner in CTP, LLC.

College Town Partners NFP was dissolved in Sept 2014 after NIU President Baker was caught in a lie to the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees.  The President exclaimed during a meeting that the University had no financial interest in the Ellwood Historic Neighborhood to counter Misty Haji-Sheikh at the BOT committee meeting.  Derek Van Buer immediately sent the $250,000 commitment letter to the board (see page 7 in this pdf), proving Haji-Sheikh’s statements as true and Baker’s statement as false.

Entity #3:  College Town Partners LLC

This was where the money from College Town Partners NFP would be moved to.

College Town Partners  – The University’s Part

The main argument from the city of DeKalb is that nothing was ever signed so no harm done.

So let us see if that is true from the evidence given, which we believe points to harm being done:
City Managers Calendar.  Annemarie Gaura was there also:

John Rey’s (Mayor of DeKalb) Calendar:

The Cheryl Ross – recording secretary BOT

Diane Wright – assistant city clerk

Both of these are Notary Publics.  The law firm of ICE-Miller had representatives in this meeting too.

The travel bill-

The actual project charges:

This meeting was probably about signing the agreement.  There was no purpose for the two notaries otherwise.

We believe this is still in play in some dark corner of Dekalb County.  This group tried to include the neighborhood in the “Enterprise Zone” which caused a big public fight.

All through this Tim Struthers has been a major player, and it concerns us that the Governor appointed this character to the NIU Board of Trustees.

More to come…