Latoza, who spoke to a group of about 70 on Monday evening, said he had viewed Lincoln Junior High School both inside and out and walked around outside Central School, which was closed for the Columbus Day holiday. Both schools are scheduled for demolition if a referendum is passed Nov. 7 approving a $4.1 million bond issue to help construct two new school buildings. State funding will provide the $8,318,181 to complete the $12 million project if the referendum passes.

Members of the audience who turned out for the talk represented both sides of the current debate over saving the schools, some wearing buttons favoring a "Yes" vote on the referendum, others wearing buttons urging the public to vote "No."

Asked by a member of the audience how Central and the junior high school compared with schools in Chicago that have been renovated, Latoza said, "If we came upon these two schools in Chicago, they would have gone to the back of the list because they are good, sound schools."

"Are you saying our schools don’t need major renovation?" the audience member asked.

"No, I’m saying under our criteria we have schools far more deteriorated, and they [the Lincoln schools] would go to the back of the list. They do need renovation. I see nothing that can’t be repaired."

Latoza, who came at the invitation of the Save Our Schools Citizens Committee, said he was not being paid to come to Lincoln to speak, nor was he looking for a job doing the renovation. "I’m not here sniffing out a new job; we’ve got plenty of work. I love old buildings; it’s my passion."

As part of the city of Chicago’s ongoing effort to improve its public school system, the city has spent $2.5 billion on a building program since 1986. Of that amount, 80 to 82 percent has gone for school renovation and the rest for new construction, Latoza said. He said his firm has done over $345 million worth of renovation, taking over schools in very bad condition, and has won many awards for school renovation.

The renovation job he is most proud of is Drake school, which had been abandoned for 15 or 20 years and is next to a housing project. The 40,000-square-foot school was designed by Dwight Perkins, of the noted Chicago architectural firm Perkins and Will.

Jon Steffens’ first-floor living space on Pulaski Street is an example of the elegance that can be achieved while living downtown. In this building, again, the Steffens family did the entire renovation.

"We bought it, we renovated it, I live in it, and I love it," Jon said.

[Jon Steffens lives downtown in a first-floor apartment on Pulaski Street]

"This place was completely gutted," he continued. "You could stand in the basement and see the sky." Now there is a roomy living-dining area with a fireplace, a kitchen complete with wine storage, and a den-TV room with a loft bedroom above. The 14-foot ceiling in the living room is finished with tile salvaged from three other buildings and arranged in a new pattern. Over the fireplace are antique tiles that came from a Chicago firm that sells architectural artifacts taken from old buildings before they are demolished.

Above Jon’s quarters is a two-bedroom apartment, also rented.

Larry and Bette Steffens like the idea of living downtown so well they will soon be leaving their large country home and moving to a 4,000-square-foot apartment, again renovated with their own hands. They "started from scratch" on the upper floor, once the warehouse for the old Gehlbach Hardware store, complete with a freight elevator (which they are going to keep).

The look they are creating is1890s, with 10-foot ceilings, tall baseboards, stenciling above the windows, and dark wood stained to match throughout the apartment. A fireplace in the commodious living room is flanked by lighted cabinets to display Bette’s collection of glass from all over Europe. Chandeliers, made in the Czech Republic, add to the old-world ambiance. A den and TV room at the back has another fireplace, and one bath will include a Jacuzzi. The elevator will take Steffens to his basement workshop under the Pink Shutter, where he will continue to work on his hobbies of taxidermy and wildlife painting.

Although he’s enjoyed his country home, Steffens is looking forward to living downtown. "We’ll have low maintenance, no snow removal problems, no lawn to mow. We won’t have to drive 10 miles to get a loaf of bread or wait to have pizza delivered. We can baby-sit with our grandchildren. When we’re working downstairs, we can run up for lunch or a nap," he said.

[Joan Crabb]

Dale Bassi and Larry Crisafulli are nearly done with the first phase of their current project: three apartments over the Elder Cycle shop. Each unit has a unique configuration. One of them is rented to Allan Elder, owner of the cycle shop. He shares it with wife Paulie and watchdog Gizmo. Elder enjoys the convenience of living above his business and the great sunsets he can see from the second-story windows.

His two-bedroom unit has a contemporary feeling, with brick walls, hardwood floors and an open living-dining area that is light and roomy. Four closets and the furnace room provide storage space. A three-bedroom apartment at the front of the same building has just been rented, while a two-bedroom unit is still to be finished.

Next door, the space above 205 is nothing but an empty loft at the moment, but plans call for two front apartments with sleeping lofts, and a one-bedroom unit in the rear. The Bassi-Crisafulli apartments will have many amenities, including hardwood floors, all new plumbing and wiring, and individual forced-air furnaces. Outer walls are insulated, as well as the walls separating the individual apartments.

The apartments will have a front entrance and foyer on Sangamon Street, and a back entrance with a handicapped-accessible ramp. An elevator and a laundry room will be available for all tenants. Tenants can park behind the building, and Bassi said he may provide some garage space. Rental costs will range from $400 to $700.

[Joan Crabb]

Today it’s a national trend, according to local contractor Dale Bassi, and it can provide economy and convenience or living quarters as elegant as any you will find in a strictly residential district. For example, Bassi reports, builders in Bloomington are fixing up apartments "left and right" in the downtown area. "They tell me there is no lack of demand for downtown residential living quarters, as long as they are of good quality and have the expected amenities," he said.

Apartments on Lincoln’s South Sangamon Street are proof that living downtown is popular here as well. Bassi and his partner, Dr. Larry Crisafulli, have no trouble finding renters for the apartments they are constructing on the second floors of the two buildings they own, 201 and 205.

Across the street, in the 100 block, the Steffens family has renovated the upper floors of three buildings to create 12 apartments, all currently rented, and Larry and Bette Steffens are building a new 4,000-square-foot home for themselves above the Pink Shutter Thrift Shop.

[Joan Crabb]

[click here for Part 2]

Registered voters expecting to be absent from the county on election day or those who are permanently disabled or incapacitated may now make application by mail to vote absentee. Applications will be received by the county clerk until Nov. 2. No ballots will be sent by mail after Nov. 2, as provided by law.

Sally J. Litterly

Logan County Clerk

* Senior requests and Oasis, $80,956; CIEDC, $45,000; Rural Health Partnership, $25,000 = total of $150,000 requested; approximately $70,000 available.

* Non-mandated (County Farm Fund): Main Street Lincoln, $10,000; economic development, $25,000; soil and water, $4,000; Teen Court, $3,500 = total of $42,500 requested; approximately $16,000 available.

* Court security (open another door at courthouse): one employee, $16,640; plus metal detector, $10,000 = total of $26,640 requested

* Court request: new microphone, $1,000; increase in bailiff pay, $2,000; new judge support, $4,500 = total of $7,500 requested

* Sheriff’s Department: one additional deputy; one additional car= $120,000; parking lot resurface, $20,000