The Perfect Storm

It seems as if small business in Blue Island has been hit with the perfect storm. In the spring, people worried about whether or not the hospital would close, and whether or not they would still have jobs. People were afraid to spend. This summer, people suffered with outrageous gas prices. Budgets were sliced and diced while people tried to make ends meet. Then came the stock market collapse. People who had previously felt secure were suddenly alarmed as they surveyed their retirement plans. Spending was
re-evaluated. And as the presidential election approached, people held their financial breath. Anyone in retail knows that the months preceding a presidential are always slow.
All you need to do to see the effects of all this is look at Western Avenue. It is no secret anymore that Vermont Antiques is closing. Divas & Them is gone. One of our dry cleaners is gone. I have heard of three long standing Blue Island businesses that are relocating. They are not closing, but they are moving out of our city to greener pastures. Once all these buildings are empty, I fear that all the kings’ horses and all the kings’ men are going to have a heck of a time trying to put Blue Island back together again.
The closing and moving of various businesses can be blamed on many factors. Commercial property taxes have gone up, forcing landlords to raise rents beyond what the renters can afford. Some businesses have run their popular course, just as Ty Beanie Babies came and went. Some are just obsolete for today’s lifestyles. However, many should have had a fighting chance, but for the economic storm that has beleaguered our city during the last eight months.
There are always plans in the works, but most citizens have no idea what they are and how they are progressing. How many of us volunteered time to help develop the Blue Island Plan, and now, how many of us have heard anything about it since those wonderful, hopeful evenings when we dreamt aloud about what our city could be? Time and time again, a better city has been dangled in front of us, only to have the plan eventually put on the shelf. By the time any of these plans is truly implemented, there will be no business left to save.
I was touched when people stopped by and told me that they noticed I had not written a column lately. To tell the truth, I have been alternately disillusioned, angered, and disappointed in the things I see happening and not happening around our city. It is difficult to write a hopeful, upbeat, cheerleading-type column when it seems that no one has the ability or the interest to follow through even on what should be the simplest of things.
You still have time to join me, somewhat disheartened, spending my $5.00 a day on Western.

Candace Carr
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