Ten million dollars just doesn’t go as far as it used to.
On Friday, Whole Foods announced the closing of six stores nationwide, including two in Chicago. One, in Englewood, is only 6 years old, the cornerstone of a development involving $10 million in tax increment financing incentives.
Whole Foods didn’t get direct payments. In 2014, the City Council spent the money preparing city-owned land for construction, then sold it to a developer for $1. It would take thousands of words to fully explore the details of food deserts, profit margins, corporate parents, big-box retailers and more.
But TIF districts are a major economic development tool in communities across Illinois. Unless a new tenant makes a more lasting commitment to the neighborhood, this vacant grocery store will stand as a monument to unfulfilled promises, unfortunately not alone among projects that haven’t delivered a sufficient return on the investment of public resources.
Chicago’s proposed fiscal 2022 operating budget is $10.6 billion, making $10 million seem like pocket change. Smaller communities – literally all of them – have much more at stake when trying to foster growth.
There are no guarantees under capitalism, but this still seems like a raw deal.
HOOPS HAPPENINGS
During March Madness, I took note of the fact Chicago has never hosted a women’s Final Four, although the event has gone to cities such as Nashville, Tampa, Columbus, Minneapolis, Denver and Dallas. The state and city have unimpeachable basketball heritage, so it’s no surprise the McDonald’s All-American games returned this spring (to Wintrust Arena, after running the United Center from 2011 to 2017), spectacles that helped lay the groundwork for landing a bigger fish.
Just after Independence Day, Wintrust will host the WNBA All-Star Weekend, which includes a new, two-day indoor-outdoor event at McCormick Place coinciding with a national youth tournament. Opened in 2017, Wintrust is home to DePaul University and the WNBA champion Chicago Sky. Hopefully NCAA organizers will be paying attention.
MAILBAG
Paula P. wrote to say her home mailbox is similar to mine – “Two or three flyers from my state representatives and a couple emails from my U.S. representative. That’s it.” – but added her phone is a different story.
“I have been getting tons of robocalls that are politically based. I never answer them but I googled the numbers to see who they are. One day, in a two-hour period, I received four calls from the same number. In between those, I received three calls from another number. I have also gotten calls weekly from the RNC, 202 area code. You would think they would get tired of the answering machine. They never leave a message.”
Thankfully that’s not been my experience. Anyone else experiencing the same hassle?
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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