A landmark automobile dealership in downtown DeKalb changed ownership last week.

Joe Daniels Chevrolet/Geo Oldsmobile Cadillac, Inc., 204 N. Fourth St., was sold to financer Mike Mooney on Jan. 21.

Mooney, originally from Chrisman, Ill., comes from a family with a long lineage of car dealers.

“I still own car dealerships in Chrisman and Paris, Ill.,” Mooney said. Mooney also owns Mike Mooney Chevrolet/GEO Oldsmobile Cadillac, Inc.

Mooney’s father owns and operates a Ford dealership in Chrisman, Ill., located in east-central Illinois, he said.

While Mooney always has been interested in automobile dealerships, his motive to purchase the Joe Daniels dealership in DeKalb was unrelated.

“My wife (Denise Rode) is the director of Orientation and Student Assistance at NIU,” he said. “We have been commuting back and forth since we were married in 1988, but now with a 3-year-old daughter it’s time for the family to be together on a full-time basis.”

Mooney’s original interest in the dealership peaked in May 1992 when he visited the Joe Daniels dealership to obtain a color chart.

“I met Joe Daniels in May (1992), he called me back in September (1992) and we started discussing the sale,” he said.

While living in DeKalb, Mooney intends to retain ownership of his other businesses.

“I will definitely keep my other car dealerships,” Mooney said.