Tonight, May 16th at 6p.m., Alderman Moore and DevCorp North are going to try to pull a fast one on the community at the Gateway Bar and Grill located at Howard and Clark Street. Alderman Moore is going to try to flush your tax dollars down the toilet with the reconsitution of Special Service Area Tax increase #19.
It's a full blown taxpayer boon doogle. It's a political favor handout from Alderman Moore to DevCorp North. It's unaccountable to the taxpayers. It benefits a select few. Like I said, Alderman Moore wants to flush your hard earned dollars down the crapper.
Alderman Moore wants to raise your taxes. But hopefully, you can stop this from happening.
* A official certified letter should have been sent to every property owner and renter in the Special Service Area Tax boundaries. (Not having confusing lime green fliers placed on Chase and Fargo Streets, some four blocks away.) Those people don't pay the taxes for SSA #19.
* Notice should have been given more than a week ago. Not the weekend of the meeting.
* A actual budget should have been included with the information.
Special Service Area Tax #19 failures, grading DevCorp North.
* No new quality businesses have been relocating to the Howard Street area to justify the cost. There's way too many empty, boarded up storefronts.
Grade-F
* Security and safety is a huge concern that DevCorp North can't control with Special Service Area Tax money. The Chicago Police Department Security cameras being installed shows Howard is a Open Air Drug Market. Walk down the street any day and you will find drug dealing, prostitution, gangs and gun battles.
Grade-F
* The Farmerless Market. ( Poor attendance and poor vendors, along with poor advertising killed this popular city wide activity. What's successful in other neighborhoods fails miserably under DevCorp North's control.)
Grade-F
* Empty, ugly planters. The horticulturists at DevCorp North can't grow weeds. Why should we give them flower money?
Grade-F
* Poor snow removal services, poor sidewalk cleaning service. It's the business owners responsibility to do this job, let's put it back in their hands.
Grade-F
* The privatization and doubling up of city services is killing the merchants with higher rents.
Grade-F
* The high administration fees DevCorp North takes, keeping DevCorp North's checkbook healthy, while the business owners have to close shop because they can't afford to pay rent.
Grade-F
With the above failures, DevCorp North does not deserve to have Special Service Area Tax # 19 re-newed. They have proven unable to manage the Special Service Area #19 tax levy.
I am calling on everyone who is for reducing higher taxes to join the community tonight at the Gateway Bar and Grill. I'm calling on everyone who is for public accountability, everyone who is tired of DevCorp North ignoring the 49th ward residents needs over greed, to say no to the re-newel of Special Service Area Tax #19!
Would you give your kids their allowance if they brought a report card like this home?
11 comments:
I would love to be able to provide you a link to a map of the SSA on the City web site, but I cannot.
There used to be an are on the City's web site with some general information on SSAs, and a map of each SSA, but when Gina Caruso went through the revolving door at City Hall, and went from being a private SSA consultant to a taxpayer-salaried SSA consultant, the first thing she did was take down all the online information. Sorry.
The next thing she did was to stop posting the contracts the SSA service providers sign with the City, because she did not want the public to see the list of services the SSA service providers agreed to provide and how much it is costing taxpayers. Mayor Daley requires all City contracts to be posted on the City web site, but Ms. Caruso believes she and her merry band of delegate agencies are above all that.
And the NEXT thing she did was to take down all the SSA contracts posted by her predecessors since 1996.
The Howard-Paulina SSA is founded on a conflict of interest when you understand that DevCorp North owns Gateway Mall.
If the Dominick's came to us and said they wanted to raise property taxes on the surrounding area to hire workers to pick up litter and shovel snow so they don't have to hire union workers, would we say yes? OK, bad example, we did.
But if DevCorp North hides their ownership of the Mall and comes to us and sez they want to raise property taxes to fund themselves, would we say yes? OK, another bad example, we did.
did you find on DevCorp North's web site where they explain how they own Gateway Mall?
Please show me the spot on DevCorp's website listing every date of all 52 farmers markets.
With the list of vendors and attendants.
Profits or loses?
DevCorp North installed 17 planters. No plants, just planters.
Holiday decorations under DevCorp North.
DevCorp North wants to assist store owners with their storefronts?
did you find any SSA maps or contracts on the City web site?
How about a Farmer's Market on the ever-so-quaint cobblestone Glenwood Avenue? Now I would shop there every Saturday. Maybe I'm dreaming now, but I'll keep it on my wish list.
RPNeighbor said.
How about a Farmer's Market on the ever-so-quaint cobblestone Glenwood Avenue? Now I would shop there every Saturday. Maybe I'm dreaming now, but I'll keep it on my wish list.
I agree it should have always been there in the first place. But the reality is that I don't think every neighborhood in tht city can afford a farmers market. There are only so many farmers and just so many people who visit them. Besides Evanston has one of the best in all of Chicagoland and it is a bike ride,train, or short drive away.
Folks, ranting on this website is one thing... sending letters to the U.S. Attorney demanding he take appropriate action (by indicting that SOB Alderman of ours) may have a better chance of getting something accomplished!
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