Help! Evanston, Chicago’s most unique suburb, is about to be destroyed! We need help and don’t know where else to turn. The city government is bent on dumping into our small downtown a massive mall and cineplex that will bust the local economy.
In October we had more than 700 petition signatures opposing it. City government acted as if we didn’t exist. In November, more than 300 people came to City Hall to oppose it. We were ignored. When we showed evidence of insufficient parking and traffic allowances, we were called malcontents. We muster 70 signatures of local business owners opposing it, and the city fathers accuse them of wanting unfair business advantage, even though the business people will be forced to charge us a 5 percent entertainment tax to help fund the mall and their own competitors. Meanwhile the developer is recruiting tenants of the chain and big-box variety that duplicate the already successful small locally owned businesses.
Evanston City Hall’s answer to a swell in storefront vacancies is to create a stand-alone mall right next to the trouble area, telling us it will increase consumer presence when all it will do is give people more reason than ever to ignore our downtown.
What is the answer? Citizen outrage here means nothing. Can anyone help us stop this crazy thing?
