CHICAGO (AP) — The same family has owned Chicago’s Balzekas Chrysler since 1933. It has survived the Depression, World War II, the Cold War, an energy crisis and a host of recessions and economic ups and downs.
On Thursday, like approximately 40 other dealerships in the state, Stanley Balzekas II opened a letter from Chrysler LLC that said the troubled automaker was eliminating the dealership his father opened more than 75 years ago and where he has worked since he was 9.
“Chrysler has been up and down through the years like many car manufactures,” Balzekas said. “We always stayed with them. We don’t run and it was a mistake.”
Chrysler intends to shut down around 40 Illinois dealerships, or about a third of the existing firms in the state, as part of a plan to cut 789 nationwide — news that came as a jolt to several smaller communities on Thursday.
“It’ll affect everyone whether it is tax revenue or jobs, whether it’s gas stations or baseball teams Chrysler has sponsored,” John Shover, a bank president in Barry, a community of 1,400 in west-central Illinois where a sole Chrysler dealership is set to close.
In a motion filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, Chrysler said it wants to eliminate the dealerships by June 9, citing low sales at many dealerships, as well as too many stores that end up competing with each other.
Chrysler will keep around 120 dealership in Illinois, including more than 20 in the Chicago area. There is a chance some dealerships could stay open selling other car brands.
That’s little comfort to residents of Barry — a village encircled by cornfields and farms, and skirted by Interstate 72 — where the Pike County Chrysler Center has been a vital economic engine for years.
“Any time a small town loses any business, it’s a very bad thing,” said Steve Schultz, Barry’s mayor pro tem. The Chrysler dealership, he said, was among the five largest companies in the community, along with a nursing home and chicken processing plant.
A Bankruptcy Court judge is set to decide on June 3 whether to approve Chrysler’s motion.
Dealers were informed Thursday morning through United Parcel Service letters if they would remain or be eliminated. Someone who answered the phone at the dealership in Barry said the owner wasn’t in and no one else could comment.
The company is trying to preserve its best-performing dealers, Chrysler executives said. More than half the dealerships being eliminated sell less than 100 vehicles per year and account for 14 percent of U.S. sales.
A Chrysler dealership in Jacksonville, a central Illinois community of around 20,000, is also closing.
While struggling, the outlet still sold about 30 cars in April, which would translate to nearly $10,000 in sales taxes for that month going directly to the local government, said the dealership’s owner, Bob Ridings.
Ridings, who owns other dealerships in the region, said he may have to lay off around 10 employees. Sales at one of his dealerships that sells Fords are up, so he hopes it can take up some of the slack.
“Anyway, I want a car company that isn’t taking so much money from the government,” he said. “So thank God I’ve got Ford, because they’re really on a roll.”
For some, the closures are a deeply personal.
Thursday was tough emotionally, Balzekas said.
“I don’t feel very good about this and it’s hard,” he said. “I may be trying to put a positive spin on it but it’s pretty difficult.”
More than 40 Chrysler dealerships in Illinois slated for closure as part of plans to cut 789 dealerships nationwide. Some of these dealerships could stay open selling other car brands:
Auffenberg Chrysler, O'Fallon, Ill.
Balzekas Motor Sales, Chicago
Belvidere Motors, Belvidere, Ill.
Bob Ridings Ford, Taylorville, Ill.
Bob Ridings in Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Ill.
Bob Ridings Linc-Merc, Decatur, Ill.
Burke Automotive Group, Lisle, Ill.
Carmack Car Capital, Danville, Ill.
Continental Chrysler Jeep, Countryside, Ill.
Courtesy Nissan, Moline, Ill.
Cross Jeep, Macomb, Ill.
Curfin Investments, Forest Park, Ill.
Dave Croft Motors, Collinsville, Ill.
David Bruce Auto Center, Bourbonnais, Ill.
Ed Napleton Auto Group Ed Napleton Dodge, Westmont, Ill.
Extreme Jeep, McHenry, Ill.
Fraher Chrysler-Plymouth, Pontiac, Ill.
Gregory Chry-Plym-Jeep, Lake Villa, Ill.
Guetterman Motors, Cairo, Ill.
Jack Phelan Dodge, Berwyn, Ill.
Ken Nelson Auto Mall, Sterling, Ill.
Key Buick-Pont-AMC, Moline, Ill.
Lefta Incorporated, Chicago
Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet Company, Rockford, Ill.
Mancari Auto Group Mancari's of Orland Hills, Forest, Ill.
Napleton Automotive Group Ed Napleton Jupiter Motor Sales, Westmont, Ill.
Nikles Motor, Mason City, Ill.
Ogden Chrysler, Downers Grove, Ill.
Pal Auto Group, Duquoin, Ill.
Phil Lamb, Tuscola, Ill.
Pike County Chrysler Center, Barry, Ill.
Richard Chrysler Jeep, St. Charles, Ill.
Richmond Motor Sales, Richmond, Ill.
River Oaks Chrysler Jeep, Lansing, Ill.
Roberts Motors, Alton, Ill.
Rohrman Auto Group Rohr-Alpha, Palatine, Ill.
South Holland Dodge, South Holland, Ill.
Star Chrysler, Naperville, Ill.
Strandquist Motor Company, Rockford, Ill.
Uftring Chrysler, Peoria, Ill.
Uftring Ford, East Peoria, Ill.
University Auto Park, Urbana, Ill.
Viking Dodge, Crystal Lake, Ill.
Westside Dodge, North Aurora, Ill.
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Source: Chrysler bankruptcy court filing.