$10 To Buy Leaning Tower Of Niles, $10,000 To Promote It

NILES, IL — Now that the Leaning Tower of Niles has been officially acquired by the village, trustees have hired a marketing firm to promote it. The village awarded a $10,000 contract to DiMeo Partners, a public relations company run by Bernie DiMeo, at its July 25 board meeting. DiMeo has previously worked for the campaigns of Trustee Joe LoVerde, who recused himself from the vote approving the contract, and Mayor Andrew Przyblo, among others.

The tower is perhaps Niles' most iconic site. It was built in 1934 by the industrialist and inventor Robert Ilg to mask a water tower supplying pools at a recreation park for his employees. When Ilg died, he willed it to the YMCA of Greater Chicago, which had owned the tower since 1964.

Over the years, it deteriorated somewhat, and Niles trustees have estimated it requires more than $500,000 in repairs. The village is currently working on reopening the site to visitors and getting its 400-year-old Italian bells ringing again, while pushing to get the tower included in the National Register of Historic Places. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Niles — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

The deal to donate the tower from the Leaning Tower YMCA to the village for $10 plus up to $20,000 in legal fees closed on July 31, according to a copy of the agreement.

The village wants to make the tower the focal point of a new, multi-decade arts and culture master plan to revitalize the area with shopping, restaurants, mixed-use residential developments, and an outdoor concert venue.

The Leaning Tower Foundation can now solicit tax-deductible donations to the tower, and last month, in a message to residents, Przybylo said a $5 million corporate or angel donation would provide for park and land to build a new community center or YMCA.

According to a July 28 agreement with DiMeo, the village will pay $2,500 a month until November for DiMeo to "get the Leaning Tower of Niles and the Village itself into the public eye on a regular, consistent basis." DiMeo Partners is expect to "secure at least one feature story per month on broadcast media, social media and print/online media."

Przybylo and other trustees have worked with DiMeo before. He worked for the mayor and the New Niles slate of candidates during his 2013 campaign. At the time, Patch reported that DiMeo had been a partner in an adult entertainment company. In response, the mayor said the connection, if true, would block DiMeo from being involved in village business.

"If it's true, then that precludes him from any involvement in Niles with my administration. That is not right for Niles," Przybylo told Patch at the time. Last month, he told the Journal he does not remember the quote but does not disavow it. The mayor said he has the highest respect for DiMeo's work, but it would be a problem if he were "still involved" in adult ventures.

This week, DiMeo told Patch he has not been involved in the business for more than a decade, and the person to whom he sold his share used his phone number on a 2012 poster without permission.

DiMeo said initial restoration work on the tower was concluded in April at a cost of just under $600,000 and the village has set aside $424,500 in TIF funds for the next phase. He said there is no timeline available for when the tower might be opened to the public or a music venue constructed.

Related:

• Leaning Tower YMCA Sued Over Near Drowning
• Leading Tower of Niles Will Be Sold for $10
• Przybylo Disavows Stripper Service Owner
• DiMeo Blasts Patch

_{Top photo: Leaning Tower of Niles, 2013 | Ken Lund (CC)}