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Deal to bring driver's facility to Lake Zurich expected soon

It should be a “matter of days” before a deal is finalized to relocate Illinois secretary of state driver's services to a Lake Zurich mall, according to an agency spokesman.

Under the plan approved by the Lake Zurich village board Tuesday, the facility would move to Deerpath Commons on Rand Road. It has been at Brookside Shopping Center in Libertyville since 1987.

Deerpath Commons owner Fidelity Group Ltd. and the state needs only to finalize a tentative agreement for the move to occur.

“Hopefully, it'll be just a matter of days,” secretary of state spokesman Dave Druker said Wednesday. “There's formal procedures with the state one has to go through, assuming the dollar amounts are agreed upon.”

Druker said he did not know how soon the state would open in Lake Zurich. Stephen Martin, whose family owns Brookside Shopping Center, has said the state's lease expires Sept. 30.

In May, Martin told the Daily Herald he declined to sign a five-year lease extension lease unless he received back rent that at the time totaled $46,100 for the year. Martin could not be reached Wednesday.

Druker said the secretary of state caught up on roughly six months of overdue rent in December through a supplemental appropriation approved by the General Assembly. Illinois has a temporary budget and still owes a variety of creditors.

“We caught up, but then again, we fell behind,” he said. “They haven't been paid since (December).”

Overdue rent was cited for what had appeared to be the imminent closure of the secretary of state's express driver's facility in downtown Wheaton in March. However, the landlords agreed to renew the lease one day before its expiration after hearing from residents who were upset at the prospect of the operation closing.

Druker said landlords generally have been understanding about not receiving on-time rent payments for the driver's facilities. He said the state will make Martin whole at some point.

“The landlords, by and large, have been extremely patient,” he said. “And we're very grateful for that. They've shown tremendous patience going through this.”

As for the expected Lake Zurich driver's services facility, Fidelity Group Vice President Jason Sfire said the company is designing a 9,638-square-foot space that'll be rebuilt specifically for the state, adjacent to House of Hope Resale at Deerpath Commons.

Roughly 1,200 customers visit the Libertyville driver's facility daily, according to the secretary of state's office. About 500 typically come for driver's licenses, state identification cards and testing, with the other 700 seeking titles, license plates and annual stickers.

Sfire said he expects the driver's operation to be good for Lake Zurich.

“I think any traffic to Lake Zurich is good traffic,” he said. “So, anybody you can bring to town is another dollar that potentially could be spent at a business here in Lake Zurich.”

Druker said he did not immediately know how much it would cost to relocate the driver's facility to Lake Zurich.

•Daily Herald staff writer Jessica Cilella contributed to this report.

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  The secretary of state driver's services facility at Brookside Shopping Center in Libertyville was busy Wednesday, but a deal is expected soon to relocate the operation to Lake Zurich. Bob Susnjara/bsusnjara@dailyherald.com
  An Illinois secretary of state driver's services facility is proposed for Deerpath Commons in Lake Zurich. Bob Susnjara/bsusnjara@dailyherald.com
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