Dixon: A look back at the top five stories of 2024

DIXON — In 2024, the city of Dixon has grown through various developments, anticipated a historic change in health care offerings and dealt with shocking news from President Joe Biden’s clemency act.

Here is a look back on what 2024 had in store for Dixon:

The Gateway development

The Gateway project is a commercial development bringing gas stations, restaurants, a Fairfield Inn by Marriott and a child care center operated by the Dixon Family YMCA to the Interstate 88 corridor.

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Dixon Mayor Glen Hughes speaks before a crowd Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at the groundbreaking of a new hotel in Dixon’s Gateway project. Fairfield Inn by Marriott is expecting to open in the spring of 2025. (Alex T. Paschal)

The 27-acre site along South Galena Avenue across from Walmart between Keul and Bloody Gulch roads broke ground in spring 2022. The city expects the entire project to create more than 600 jobs and $1 million a year in new tax revenue once it’s completed.

Throughout 2023, the city laid the groundwork for the project and the first business to open was Chipotle on Dec. 29 of that year. By 2024, nearly all of the businesses have opened their doors.

The first of the year was Casey’s gas station, which opened on May 31 at 1751 S. Galena Ave.

Its opening came only two days after the city broke ground May 29 on the hotel, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, which sits behind the gas station along Route 26. The 45,000-square-foot hotel is still under construction and is expected to open in spring 2025.

Shortly after, Water Castle Car Wash at 1661 S. Galena Ave. broke ground on June 11. It was expected to open Dec. 15, but is experiencing delays.

The next business to open was Jersey Mike’s on June 12 at 1677 S. Galena Ave. Although it was the third to open overall, it was the first to open within the multi-tenant building.

[ Jersey Mike’s Subs opens in Dixon ]

Its neighboring businesses quickly followed with T-Mobile on Aug. 2 and then Wynn Nails Spa on Aug. 14.

To wrap up the year, Terrabis, a cannabis dispensary, opened on Dec. 21 and was the last business in the multi-tenant building to open.

Riverfront development

Another major development came over the summer when the city finished construction of a multi-use path along the Rock River, marking the end of the third phase of the city’s riverfront development master plan that began in 1998 with the formation of the Dixon Riverfront Commission.

Phase three was the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program multi-use path, which constructed 1.6 miles of new multi-use pathways that start at Peoria Avenue, run west along the river with a ramp to the viaducts and end at Seventh Street.

[ Dixon wraps up $5.65M riverfront redevelopment project ]

It was funded through three ITEP grant awards that totaled $5.65 million, and the city broke ground on the project in April 2023. Construction included laying pavement, installing wooden railings along parts of the path and wiring emergency poles that can call first responders and send them to the caller’s location along the path.

The city celebrated its completion July 18 by holding a ribboncutting to unveil the completed ITEP multi-use path.

“After a culmination of six years of work, we are one step closer to realizing our vision of Dixon’s riverfront redevelopment,” Mayor Glen Hughes said at the ceremony.

The entire master plan includes four projects: the construction of Heritage Crossing, completed in 2009; the installation of a multi-use path that extends east along River Road from Galena Avenue to Route 2, also completed in 2009; the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program multi-use path; and Project Rock, which will extend the ITEP path with a pedestrian bridge across the river and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The Dixon: Historic Theater‘s restoration project

The Dixon: Historic Theater at 114 S. Galena Ave. was also under the spotlight this year after closing its doors to undergo major repairs.

Work on the 102-year-old theater’s $1.5 million restoration project began Oct. 1 and is expected to finish in March 2025. The project was funded through multiple revenue sources, including $100,000 each from the city and Lee County as well as a $1.2 million federal grant, which required a $300,000 match, according to Theater Board President Mike Venier.

[ A grand debut: The Dixon Historic Theatre undergoing renovations, preparing for big 2025 season ]

The renovations began with replacing the roof, which was dropped in using a crane as well as various structural repairs.

“We gotta do the outside first. All of the replacement that we have to do towards the ceiling, all the painting, getting rid of anything with lead in it, that all has to pause until the roof is secure because if there were any leaks or drainage, it could ruin the work that we do in here,” Darren Mangler, executive director and artistic producer at the theater, said in an October interview with Shaw Local.

Inside of the 900-seat theater, the plan is to bring back much of its original design. It’s going to be completely repainted with blues and reds that were its color scheme in 1922, according to Mangler.

“It’s going to be gorgeous. It’s going to be much darker, which is beneficial for theater,” he said.

In an article published by Shaw Local on Dec. 19, Mangler wrote crews have encountered some surprises that have raised their construction costs unexpectedly.

Donations can be made for the project directly through the theater’s website.

The funds will be put toward updating the theater’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; to run power to the lobby for a professional concession stand; and new theater seats, Mangler said.

Its grand opening is planned for March 2, 2025, with the national touring Broadway show “Spamilton!”

KSB Hospital merger with OSF HealthCare

After opening its doors in 1897, this year marked the last for KSB Hospital.

On Jan. 1, 2025, OSF HealthCare will officially take over operations and be renamed OSF HealthCare Saint Katharine Medical Center.

In February 2024, KSB announced that it was formally exploring potential partnerships due to escalating operating and staffing costs, as well as changes to health care financing and how patients use health care.

KSB Hospital is an independent, nonprofit organization, employing 920 people. The downtown Dixon location is an 80-bed facility that offers traditional inpatient and outpatient services. The organization also operates an integrated medical group, with 70 practitioners providing medical services in primary and select specialty areas at six locations in Lee and southern Ogle counties.

According to a resolution presented to the Dixon City Council on Aug. 5, KSB’s board analyzed the feasibility of continuing to operate the hospital independently and found that it likely would lead to its closure.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital experienced an increase in expenses including wages, pharmaceuticals, utilities, facility costs and medical supplies. Those increased expenses were not covered by increased reimbursement rates because KSB, like other rural hospitals, serves a large portion of patients on Medicare and Medicaid, which reimburse at a lower rate than commercial insurance, according to the resolution.

As a result, KSB operated with negative margins in 2022 and 2023. Those operating margin challenges led to the erosion of the balance sheet and, in January 2024, the hospital’s cash on hand dropped to five days, which made it impossible to borrow funds and reinvest in the organization, according to the resolution.

KSB’s partnership with OSF was made official May 10, when the two organizations announced in a news release that they’d signed a term sheet and expected a full merger.

[ KSB, OSF HealthCare enter negotiations, anticipating merger ]

Its agreement with OSF includes $40 million in funding for facility renovations to improve access to care locally and to create seamless referrals to subspecialties. With the affiliation, KSB expects the continued employment of its staff, significant investments in building and technology, and enhanced access to specialty resources in the local community.

While some community members support the merger, others are concerned about what it will mean for reproductive health care policy changes due to OSF being a Catholic organization.

City officials ‘betrayed’ by Rita Crundwell’s commuted sentence

Thursday, Dec. 12, President Joe Biden announced his decision to grant roughly 1,500 people clemency - among them was former Dixon city comptroller Rita Crundwell.

Convicted of embezzling $53.7 million from the city over her 20-year tenure, Crundwell is pegged as the perpetrator of the largest municipal fraud in United States history.

[ From Arrest to Commutation: The Full Story of Rita Crundwell ]

“It just shocks the conscience,” Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss said in an interview with Shaw Local. “I just completely feel betrayed by the justice system, the federal government and the president.”

For Dixon City Council member Dennis Considine, “it’s still, to me, somewhat of a slap in the face. According to the people in power, she’s served all of her time but it’s hard to swallow.”

The city received no communication or notification that her sentence was being commuted, leading Langloss and Considine to question how the decision was made.

“It doesn’t appear that the damage of somebody’s crime was considered in this clemency determination,” Langloss said. “She created the largest municipal embezzlement in the history of the country. She’s a criminal. She pled guilty. She should have served her sentence.”

Crundwell used the stolen money to fund a lavish lifestyle raising champion quarter horses, a $2 million tour bus, jewels, furs, multiple homes and other trappings while Dixon struggled to pay for infrastructure and other projects.

The aftershock of her crimes led the city to convert from a commissioner form of government to a council-manager form and to make many changes to policies and the way it does business.

“I think it’s good for us to be outraged. To be shocked, to feel betrayed, but not to hold on to that too long, because we’ve moved beyond it and what’s happening in Dixon is absolutely phenomenal,” Langloss said. “The city is so much better for the change that has come since Rita was arrested.”