Recently in Wilson Yard News Category

Citizens of the 46 ward, Chicago and Cook County keep pushing to be heard on controversial Wilson Yard TIF plan. They are posed for the next round when Shiller goes before the CDC next Tuesday asking for another $54 million of taxpayers' money.

A new Wilson Yard TIF petition is up and ready for signing.

The petition has 2 goals:

• Deny the $54 million TIF monies
• Retire the Wilson Yard TIF in 2011

Our goal is to collect thousands of signatures and a strong show of support for the meeting on Tuesday, September 8. 

You can help make that happen now.

Please sign the petition now.  Please forward the petition to your neighbors and ask them to sign and forward it on.

We want a government that listens and responds to its citizens!

 

http://www.petitiononline.com/cococj/petition.html

If the Wilson Yard TIF story was a book, possible titles would be "Confederacy of the Dumbest Urban Plan Ever" or "How to Rape Taxpayers & Get Away With It".
 
Part 1 of the story tells the tale of how "the vibrant & cohesive mixed-use development" mission disintegrated into a $58 million sinkhole with:

• Subsidized housing costing $445,000 per unit on a prime commercial corner
• Senior housing on a site that doesn't even meet HUD standards
• Truman parking garage for 1200 cars that shuts off resident access to Wilson

Residents frustrated with the radical changes to the plan, filed a lawsuit and are preparing for round-two, but more on that later  Citizens recently discovered Shiller wants another $54 million from the Wilson Yard TIF--your tax money--when Lorraine Swanson covered the story in Lake Effect News.

Who decided that another $54 million of taxpayers' money is best used for a fish-farm, more parking, and "$21 million to preserve affordable housing"?  Why was the community excluded from this behind-closed-door planning? What rights do we have in the planning process?
 
Shiller had scheduled a private Wilson Yard meeting on July 23 when an eagle-eyed resident found the posting on the Truman website.  Suddenly the meeting was open to the public. The room was packed on an early Thursday morning with Uptown residents questioning the additional $54 million Shiller wants from the taxpayers.  Click here to read more...

Residents questioned who decided that a fish farm and parking are top community priorities. One woman summed it up, "I recently moved to Uptown and don't shop here because the retail streets aren't safe.  Why are you spending money on a fish farm when there are so many other needs for our neighborhood?  Building a fish farm is like putting organic frosting on a moldy cupcake".

Shiller promised to include the whole community in the planning process when questioned about the closed-door decisions being made.  Now it's up to us to hold her to this promise.  We must hold her accountable for an inclusive community planning process that gives residents a voice in how the next $54 million will be spent.  Inclusive community meetings, etc. will be in the works.

Wilson Yard Lawsuit Update

The Wilson Yard lawsuit is alive and well. Residents heard the good news about the recent complaint filing approved by Judge Rochford.  Click here to read the latest.

It's very clear that the citizens of Uptown had no other recourse than to take legal action. The $112 million Wilson Yard TIF is quickly becoming the poster child for taxpayer abuse.
 
Fix Wilson Yard needs your help. A fundraiser BBQ is planned for Saturday, August 22. You can learn more by visiting www.fixwilsonyard.org
 
Find out more about Uptown, community issues, Wilson Yard history by visiting:

www.uptownupdate.com
www.uncchicago.org
www.lakeeffectnews.com
www.fixwilsonyard.org
 
Get involved...join your block club, join UNC, join Fix Wilson Yard. Please forward this e-news.

Fix Wilson Yard, a registered Illinois Not-For-Profit organization made of concerned citizens in Uptown and surrounding Chicago neighborhoods who protest the creation, execution and implementation of the Wilson Yard Tax Increment Financing District and the Wilson Yard Redevelopment Plan, had their day in court in pursuit of a Temporary Restraining Order against the City of Chicago and Peter Holsten, the developer of Wilson Yard.

While Fix Wilson Yard was unable to secure the TRO, the group feels they have made a significant impact on the the project.

Defendants, the City of Chicago and Peter Holsten, pleaded with the court, citing that the extremely tenuous financing that has allowed construction to move forward would be destroyed, the developer would be in default and incur $50,000 per day in fines and add exponential costs to the overall development. Additionally, the City attorneys demanded that if a TRO was granted that the community group must put up $100 million dollar bond.

Judge Mary Katherine Rochford stated her difficulty in making her decision. She began by acknowledging the strong case presented by the Plaintiffs, and that she would never ask a community group to post a construction bond. However, her decision not to grant the TRO was heavily based on the significant financial harm to the developer.

"Although we were unable to attain the TRO, we are very pleased with the Court's reaction to our case and believe we will win the first groundbreaking lawsuit against the City of Chicago for TIF violations," said Molly Phelan, Fix Wilson Yard President, outside the Daley Center Court House. "This was just this first battle in a very long war. It is nowhere near over yet."

Read the entire press release from Fix Wilson Yard here.

UNC E-News, October 28, 2008

Wilson Yard:  Desperate Times & Desperate Measures
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Wilson Yard has taken another drastic turn with the recent amended changes quickly shoved through by the Finance Committee and City Council in early October.  In an apparent  violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act, Alderman Burke, head of the Finance Committee, snuck through another amendment to the Wilson Yard development.  Burke, who's law firm represents both Holsten Real Estate and Walsh Construction, recused himself from voting.

The major change in this amendment gives Peter Holsten, the lone developer and owner of the Wilson Yard low income housing, access to millions of taxpayers money with little accountability.  The City gives up the right to stop paying Holsten if he defaults on deadlines and construction.  In other words, the taxpayers assume the financial burden and Holsten is not held accountable.

The single, most critical, change is shifting the risk from the developer to the taxpayer.  This step transforms the Wilson Yard project into a $52 million public works project funded by taxpayers.  Visit www.uptownupdate.com for more detail.

Wilson Yard Lawsuit coming soon
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Fix Wilson Yard will be filing a lawsuit against the City within the next 30 days  for several violations surrounding the Wilson Yard TIF development.  The City has been notified of this pending lawsuit.   We believe that the recent activity by the City and Holsten is a response to the strength of our pending lawsuit and power shown by Uptown residents who believe we deserve a better plan that truly addresses our community's economic future.

UNC will continue to work for Uptown's sensible balanced economic development and support the Fix Wilson Yard organization lawsuit.

Fix Wilson Yard Petition--Sign & Forward Now!
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The original Wilson Yard petition was created by UNC in 2004.  It was huge success, garnering over 3,000 signatures.  A new petition has been written to reflect the current Wilson Yard development. Fix Wilson Yard has drafted a new petition and needs your signatures and those of your friends, family and neighbors throughout Chicago! Please click here, to sign the petition.  Please forward this petition to other concerned Chicagoans and help reach our goal of 5,000 signatures.

The Power of Your Vote in this Election
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The election ballot contains two obscure TIF referendums on pages 15-16.  The referendums appear in only few precincts that ironically mirror the Wilson Yard boundaries.  They appear under the heading Public Questions, read them very carefully and be sure to vote.

The first referendum is cleverly worded asking if 40% of TIF funds should be used for preserving, buying and adding more affordable housing.  Most people who live in Uptown understand we do an outstanding job of providing affordable housing and deserve more opportunities to shop and dine in our neighborhood, enjoy better park programs and facilities, and restore the Wilson El Station.

The second referendum asks if businesses receiving TIF money should be required to hire local residents and pay them a living wage.

Politicans & Your Political Power
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You will also be voting for three political offices whose districts include the Wilson Yard development.  Please take a few minutes to write to the current elected officials and ask them to support a better plan for Wilson Yard:

State Senator Heather Steans, heather@heathersteans.com
State Representative Greg Harris, greg@gregharris.org
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, www.house.gov/schakowsky/email.org
Join & Support Your Community Organizations

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Thanks to the immense grass-roots movement of organizations like Uptown Neighborhood Council and Fix Wilson Yard, Uptown's economic future looks brighter.   Please join and support our work. To learn more about the history and UNC's community efforts on behalf of Wilson Yard, visit www.uncchicago.org and click on the Wilson Yard link. Please visit www.fixwilsonyard.org to learn more about the lawsuit project and how you can get involved.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, that's all that ever has.

UNC thanks you for your support!

Wilson Yard--Citizens take legal action
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Will the 46th Ward's sliver of land called Wilson Yard break Uptown's gritty, poverty-ridden cycle?  Or will it suck Uptown deeper into the poverty vortex?

Thousands of Uptown resident are frustrated with the radically altered Wilson Yard Development plan that will drag Uptown down such a vortex. Taxpayers and residents alike, who would otherwise be left footing a $54 million tax bill for this development, are taking legal action NOW!

A newly formed citizens' group has started a campaign, Fix Wilson Yard. They have retained two leading law firms with expertise and backgrounds in successfully defeating municipalities in land-use and TIF litigation.  These lawyers are hard at work and have already identified a number of potential procedural and substantive grounds on which to sue.

The organization's efforts include, a website, www.fixwilsonyard.org, and grassroots community meetings and fundraisers, We believe that these efforts, when combined with the dedication and passion of the people of Uptown, will force our government to return the direction of the Wilson Yard project to the TIF's original Mission:  To create a vibrant and cohesive mixed-use, mixed-income development.

A quick snap-shot of the dramatic changes to the plan show:

2001 Plan $34 million TIF money Mixed-income housing Movie theaters Target 5 Developers Retail--Phase 2

2008 Plan $54 million TIF money 100% low-income housing No movie theaters No commitment from Target Holsten lone developer and owner Low-income housing--Phase 2

If the new Aldi's is a sample of what's to come, the plan is in serious trouble and will create yet another dark and dangerous street in Uptown.

What we don't understand is how the City, Developer and Alderman would approve building the failed, segregated housing model in Uptown, a community that already is home to almost 6,000 subsidized units within one-mile of Wilson Yard.  The numbers below, are taken directly from Holsten's application for IHDA funding.

The housing is the largest portion of Wilson Yard. The rendering below, created by the developer, shows the massive size of these buildings as they wrap along Montrose and Broadway.

"The (Wilson Yard) development is a future slum for Uptown. The current design is deadly for neighborhood safety and building a vibrant retail area."

A reknowned ULI (Urban Land Institute) planner reviewed the plan.  His critique clearly states, "The (Wilson Yard) development is a future slum for Uptown.  The current design is deadly for neighborhood safety and building a vibrant retail area. There is no active street frontage and without it, the street becomes a place for crime."

Join the Fix Wilson Yard campaign today!

You can help build the momentum:

    * Visit www.fixwilsonyard.org
    * Donate today
    * Sign up for e-news at info@fixwilsonyard.org
    * Help spread the word, forward this email to all your neighbors
    * Host a Fix Wilson Yard meeting
    * Attend an upcoming Fix Wilson Yard meeting

Always remember:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world.
Indeed, that's all that ever has.

Thank you for your ongoing support and belief we can make a difference!
Uptown Neighborhood Council
www.uncchicago.org