June 30, 2006
The City of Chicago files with the State of Illinois an annual report on the Wilson Yard TIF district for calendar year 2005.
Wilson Yard TIF Annual Report, 2005 (PDF, 38 pages, 1.2M)
June 2006 Archives
In a new Pioneer Press News Star article, Alderman Helen Shiller shows a complete lack of respect and utter contempt for her own constituents wants and wishes for a vibrant, successful Wilson Yard development plan.
With the Wilson Yard plan being rocked by major changes, including the loss of a major anchor tenant - Kerasotes Theaters, the exiting of all developers except for Peter Holsten, and dissent from 10 area block clubs surrounding Wilson Yard, reasonable people would expect their elected officials would react by taking community members' needs and wishes to heart. Afterall, it is these very people who are paying for the Wilson Yard development with their incremental TIF tax dollars.
The text of the article...
Now that the 2,500-seat movie multiplex has pulled out of the Wilson Yard project, local leaders say the controversial redeveloment plan has changed so fundamentally that plans should be discussed from scratch.
Uptown Neighborhood Council President Randy Lehner vowed to "continue the fight through any means possibe -- legal action, protests, going to higher authorities. Whatever it takes."
Original plans called for a Target store, 78 subdidized housing units, and 99 senior suites, as well as the multi-screen theater, said Lehrer. The theater pulled out in April, claiming it needed more space and didn't want to be located above the Target store, which is now also an "iffy" proposition, Lehner said.
"The theater was the one part of the project the community was solidly behind, while the (low-income) housing was the thing that divided the community the most. So the theater gets dropped and the housing is pushed forward," Lehner said after a recent meeting with Alderman Helen Shiller, 46th, and city Planning and Development Commissioner Lori Healy.
Unfortunately, he said, "the bottom line is that the alderman and the city don't see the need for any more public meetings on this plan," even though Lehrer says the plan is not the same one the community has been discussing for more than five years.
"There are no major changes in the plan" even though the movie house is out of the picture . "It's not a big deal. You replace it (the theater) with retail," said Shiller.
The future of Wilson Yard has split the Uptown community since a 1996 blaze destroyed the CTA repair barns beween Broadway, Montrose, the McJunkin building, and the Red Line tracks. Shiller wants the site used for stores and low-income and "affordable" housing, while the UNC has been pushing for a mixed-income development with mostly market-rate units.
But the fight is far from over, said Lehrer, who vowed to mobilize his 1,200-member organization to use "any means possible."
"To plunk down 180 new units of subdidized housing in the middle of a census tract that is already about 40 percent below the poverty level, and a much higher percentage of renters than owners is just poor urban planning," he said.
"So what. He (Lehner) seems to think there's a problem with people who are poor. I don't think so. If he wants to live in an exclusive community, he should move somewhere else," Shiller said.
"Even though the Planned Development allows for 195 units, (developer Peter Holstein) is sticking with 178 units. The majority of them, nearly 100, will be one-bedroom apartments for seniors. God forbid we should have 100 poor seniors running around Uptown.
"The other building has one-, two-, and three- bedroom apartments at levels ranging from low-income to affordable, with guidelines elastic enough to allow a family of four making $45,000 a year to live there," Shiller said.
Lehner said the UNC wants an urban planner to take an impartial look at the Wilson Yard project, a "truly representative oversight committee made up of people from the block clubs, not just those who agree with the alderman," and also wants a "whole new public approval process."
Shiller said the plan came out of at least 10 community meetings beyond what was legally required, and that everyone with something to say had a chance to be heard.
"It's not a big deal. You replace it (the theater) with retail."
Alderman Helen Shiller, 46th
Randy Lehner, President of the Uptown Neighborhood Council, responded to Helen Shiller's recent comments in the Pioneer Press Star-News regarding Wilson Yard and the 1200 member-strong UNC.
Please support the UNC and Randy today through a small donation...
Randy's letter to the editor:
To the Editor:After reading the May 31, 2006, News Star front page article, "Wilson Yard causes community clash," I was stunned and dismayed by Ald. Helen Shiller's disgusting and unprofessional comments that personally attacked me. To tell any member of her constituency that "he should move somewhere else," if he disagrees with her policies and plans for the neighborhood is wrong.Shiller's role, as an elected official, should be to build consensus around important community issues, like Wilson Yard. So what does she do instead? She repeatedly tries to divide this community and demonize those who do not agree with her policies and plans. Shiller was elected to represent all 46th ward residents, not just those who share her personal philosophy.
Shiller's statement that I "seem to think there's a problem with people who are poor," is wrong and completely unfounded. The problem that many Uptown residents have, including myself, is with Shiller's complete lack of urban planning for this ward and her attempts to exclude those people in the community who do not agree with her. Shiller's plan for Wilson Yard, which will continue to concentrate poverty in Uptown, hurts all residents, including the thousands of low-income people in our community.
While the rest of the City has recognized the benefits of real mixed-income housing as a component in revitalizing neighborhoods, Shiller continues to promote the failed idea of the past -- that concentrating the poor in large apartment buildings is the right thing to do. By doing so, she continues to ignore the views of many Uptown "stakeholders," one of her favorite terms, as she forges ahead with her own personal agenda that guarantees Uptown will continue to have failing schools, limited job opportunities, and empty storefronts.
Thousands of Uptown residents, including myself and all UNC members, will continue to fight against the terrible urban planning and policies that Shiller has pushed upon this community. We will continue to do so in a respectful manner. We only hope she will do the same in the future.
Working for a revitalized Uptown,
Randall D. Lehner
Uptown Neighborhood Council President
