DeKALB – The DeKalb City Council gave the green light Monday to fund a transportation study that could bring a Metra train line and station to the city.

The city council voted unanimously in favor of the study to be conducted by Sam Schwartz Consulting LLC to assess the feasibility of the potential train station.

The $98,379 study will determine the current traffic patterns of DeKalb commuters, the number of residents that could benefit from public transportation and major sources of traffic like NIU, according to the project.

“This is exciting,” DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said. “The word is out. We’re becoming an interest for worldwide private corporations.”

Sam Schwartz Consulting says it aims to use its analysis to bolster NIU’s growth, as the company credits its work on transportation consulting as constructive for university partners, according to the firm’s project outline.

“We understand the role that transportation planning plays in a university’s strategic planning,” according to the outline. Sam Schwartz Consulting has worked with such institutions as University of Chicago and Rutgers University to improve public transit on their campuses, according to their website.

IN OTHER NEWS

The property housing senior services center Club 55 was announced to be sold Monday to be demolished due to failing infrastructure.

Club 55, on 330 Grove St., is in need of new roofing and a boiler system, according to Nicklas’ summary of the building’s condition in the city council’s Jan. 9 meeting agenda.

Sasha Cohen, DeKalb’s city clerk since April 2021, formally was censured Monday by the city council for his alleged abandonment of official duties. A censure is a formal statement of condemnation. Cohen has been absent for 23 of 26 meetings last year through Nov. 28, 2022, according to city documents.