Talk of Trader Joe's Parking During Coffee With Wally
City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz answers questions about the Trader Joe's parking lot proposal ... and other related issues.
When news broke that Trader Joe’s is coming to town, I couldn’t have been more excited. But a few weeks later, I learned the city is considering purchasing property adjacent to the proposed Trader Joe’s site at a cost of $2 million.
Cue the screeching tires.
I suppose it was a bit naive to think TJs would just set up shop without anything in it for them. Our droves of hopeful customers weren’t enough. Our nearby CTA and Metra stations weren’t enough. They also want a place for customers to park. Reasonable, but I’d figured when the announcement was made by Mayor Tisdahl about TJs coming to Evanston, the deal was done.
I mentioned my surprise and trepidation to my alderman, Don Wilson, but also added that I didn’t know how far the parking-structure money would go toward other things the city needs. My other question was, is it a deal breaker with TJs if we don’t purchase the adjacent properties and build a parking structure next to the proposed store?
Word got back to City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz that I had some questions. Shortly thereafter, I received an email from Mr. Bobkiewicz, asking if I’d like to meet for coffee to talk.
Cue more screeching tires ... a loud thump-thump ... and then a crash.
You'll rarely find me discussing financial matters willingly. Not even with my husband (well, that’s not true, but truth be told, those conversations never go well. I usually end up crying, trying to explain why the budget didn’t seem to fit my spending, and … well … you get it). The thought of sitting down with the city manager of Evanston to talk about real estate purchases and City Council discussions gave me pause. I guess I do okay writing a column about my opinion on happenings around town, but this felt out of my league. So, I did the only thing I could: I pretended I knew what I was doing.
We met at Evanston’s Unicorn Café on March 23 and, for those who care, I don’t recall what I wore. I had two sick kids at home so I don’t even remember if I brushed my hair before I left the house; however, it did occur to me that the more “made up” I looked, the more goofy I’d come off. Disheveled might imply brilliantly unkempt, right? At least, that’s what I told myself.
My biggest concern was being able to write fast enough so I wouldn’t miss any of the details. I parked in front of the new Subway next to Einstein’s bagels (btw, Evanston now has more than six Subway sandwich shops) and messed with the voice recorder on my iPhone on my way toward the café. I figured you'd be a happier reader if I recorded the conversation.
He packed a lot into our 28-minute discussion, so I'm breaking it into a few parts. Today's column addresses my initial questions about Trader Joe's parking. Tomorrow, I'll focus on why Trader Joe's picked this particular spot where there are so many other grocery stores, and how Mr. Bobkiewicz sees the arrival of Trader Joe's as benefiting Whole Foods and Jewel as well. Then, on Wednesday, I'll share the part of our talk where he addressed the broader economic development initiatives in the city, such as those along Howard Street.
Patch: What I was surprised by when I saw in Evanston Now that there’s this additional cost … was that known by the City when the Trader Joe’s announcement was made?
Sure. From the very beginning. So, one of the challenges we faced was, when do you go public about something? We’ve been working on Trader Joe’s for a long time … over a year of active discussion. We were getting to the point where Alderman Wynn was getting concerned that unless we made a formal announcement … that the neighbors wouldn’t know about it. She didn’t want the neighbors to hear through the grapevine, “Oh, did you hear Trader Joe’s is coming to the Blockbuster site?” So, we wanted the community to know as soon as possible.
[A lot of people were] reluctant to go public with this and so there was a signed lease. [There’d been a] bad incident back in 2008 where [individuals said] “they’re comin’ to town, they’re comin’ to town, they’re comin’ to town … oh, they’re not comin’ to town.” So the city was not happy about that. Trader Joe’s wasn’t happy about that. So, the piece that had to happen was a signed lease. So once there was a signed lease, we thought it was important to move forward to announce to the world that it was coming. We didn’t talk about any other details. To a couple of members of the press who asked, “So what’s this all about? What’s the deal?” we said, ‘We’re here just to announce that it’s happening, not the rest of the deal.’ And so, in the meantime, we were talking with Teraco, the developer all this time, because there wasn’t ever going to be enough parking. And so for Trader Joe’s to come, there was a minimum number of parking spaces that needed to be created, and that parcel didn’t have them. There was really no other place in Evanston that made sense to put it, so we knew all along there was going to have to be additional parking, so there’s two parcels involved in addition to the Blockbuster parcel. There’s the parcel with the tanning salon and then there’s the additional parcel to the north which is a house.”
And that’s owned by Northwestern?
Northwestern. Right.
But is it used residentially right now?
Yes, there’s someone living there. So, the developer bought the Blockbuster parcel last summer. Quietly. So that was a done deal. The developer did a deal for the second parcel, which was pretty straightforward. The third parcel … we really didn’t know who owned it and through much looking discovered NU owned it and so there were discussions with Northwestern which, to this day, aren’t complete.
So we announced it was happening, then we had to talk about the parking. We knew all along that they were gonna need help with parking and, from the very beginning, my feeling was, better that the city participate with parking than the other ways the city could have participated, which would have been with either just cash or cash over time through a rebate with sales tax. So my thought was – again, this is from a year-plus ago – let’s participate … if you can get it together … we’ll participate by buying the property for the parking and then have an arrangement for the use of the property. And then, if something bad ever happens, we still have space for parking because that neighborhood is pretty parking-impacted.
Worst-case scenario … the city still owns the property, so it’s not like we’ve given sales tax revenue to a business that then goes belly up and we have nothing to show for it. And it also gives us an opportunity to control the use of the property moving forward. It’s a 25-year lease. What’s basically happening is that Trader Joe’s is leasing property from the developer. Trader Joe’s isn’t building a building. All they’re doing is leasing property at a fixed amount of money. As 25 years goes on, Trader Joe’s may say, ‘We’ve done so well in Evanston we’re gonna go down the street …' we then control the future use of that parcel because we own the property.
That was the decision I made as city manager very early on, and the reality was, this went on for a year; we had no certainty that anything was going to happen. We didn’t have developers coming to us saying, ‘We’ve got Trader Joe’s, we’ve got Trader Joe’s,’ so these folks at Teraco, they’re smart and have done deals and projects around the North Shore, so we had every confidence … but time kept passing … so until we knew they had a deal, all the discussions regarding parking were really put on a back burner.
But then, once they had a deal, they became on the front burner. So, we had the item on the agenda March 19, for the first parcel. The Northwestern discussions are not concluded. I have every confidence that we will conclude them successfully, but they’re not done. So, we’re recommending the Council continue the item, cause I want to bring the whole shootin’ match back to the Council, because I think there were some questions raised at the Council meeting that made sense: What’s the deal for the use of the parking lot? What other ways can it be used by the neighborhood over time? All legitimate questions which I think we need to answer before we ask the Council to spend dollar one.
So we’re gonna come back on April 10 which is the next Council meeting, with [1] the second reading of the first parcel, [2] with at very least a resolution authorizing me to continue negotiating on the Northwestern parcel with a dollar amount, and the third would be a license agreement between the city and the developer on the use of the property, and that’s the extent of the deal.
A couple of questions. First, the alley access?
There is no alley.
[Sipping water and offering a confused expression]: There is no…?
Okay, so now you get into some of the peripheral things.
And the [incorrect] stuff that’s floating around out there...
So, Morty Shapiro, the president of Northwestern University, was in a regular meeting he has with reporters from The Daily Northwestern, and somehow, and I’m not quite sure how, the issue of Trader Joe’s comes up. President Shapiro expressed some concern that the university wasn’t involved in this announcement because the university (and I’m paraphrasing President Shapiro) was playing an integral role in this with [using air quotes] an alley or something. Well, it wasn’t really an alley … it was this other parcel. So we reached out to the president six months ago about this, so that’s what he referred to. So then, when he said 'an alley or something,' people thought 'Oh my gosh, what do you mean an alley?' There’s an existing alley. It stays as is. There will likely be ingress and egress needed for deliveries. Trader Joe’s is centralized; it’s not like Jewel where the bread guy comes and the Pepsi guy comes. … Trader Joe’s, it’s one truck.
And for the record, [Northwestern’s] been very cooperative. We asked them to give [the parcel] to us and they declined [he said, smiling]. I did indeed ask and they politely declined, but I’m trying to make a good deal for the property.
Do you have a sense of why Northwestern University owns that building?
Yes, I do. Because 100-plus years ago, the university reached out to as many property owners that were interested and said, ‘We will buy your property and we will let your children and your descendents go to Northwestern for free.’ So this was 1880, 1890, 1900. It’s in that timeframe we believe the university acquired this property, and it was part of a larger sort of announcement in the farm town that was Evanston in those days. The university had money, so that’s how they acquired the property.
What do you think about the additional parcels the City's considering purchasing adjacent to the proposed Trader Joe's store on Chicago Avenue?
Tell us in the comments.
In This article
-
-
The Unicorn Cafe
1723 Sherman Ave, Evanston, IL -
Whole Foods Market
1111 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL -
Jewel-Osco
1128 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL
victoria smith
9:15 am on Monday, April 2, 2012
With the oral arguments at the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of Obamacare last week, the battle over the recall of Governor Walker in Wisconsin, the impending bankruptcy of Greece, Chicago and the State of Illinois, the debate over the budget for the Federal Government, 13 million unemployed Americans and 46 million Americans on food stamps, the future of America is at stake and we get a column on Trader Joe's. That's a pretty sad commentary in itself.
Richard, I think we are all aware of what is happening, and there have been many articles in the past that have addressed these issues already. Evanston Patch is about Evanston and the issues at hand. TJ may not be something that you are interested in, but there are allot of people who are and not just women! There is a higher population of men that just happen to do all the cooking and shoppping in their household as to also being the ones that take care of the kids. What makes you think this is just a "woman issue?" I am not even going to exspound on the fact that if you walk around Jewel or Dominicks you wiill see many men doing the weekly grocery shopping. This atricle is to keep everyone informed on what the progress is with this space. Personally, I am glad that it is not another coffee shop, book store, rug emporium, hair salon, restaurant, radio shack,or something else that we have to many in our area. What would you like to have seen go into that spot that is "Men Worthy?". Really Richard?
Richard Schulte
10:22 am on Thursday, April 5, 2012
Victoria, the doctor shortage which will result due to the implementation of Obamacare will affect everyone in Evanston (and every citizen in America). Hence, the implementation of Obamacare is a local story.
Imagine what is going to happen when 40 percent of the doctors now practicing medicine in the United States leave the profession because of Obamacare. Hope you're healthy because medical care will have to be rationed. Sounds like an Evanston story to me.
Kate Monte
11:27 am on Monday, April 2, 2012
That's about the most inane comment I've read. Sexist, ill-informed, and stupid. This is a great column- any time the city uses funds in the millions, people should be aware and the process transparent. This has nothing to do with Obama or food stamps and even less with Tilted Kilt. Better to be thought an idiot than open your mouth (and post) and prove it.
Richard Schulte
10:30 am on Thursday, April 5, 2012
Looks like my response to Kate Monte has been taken down once again. Sorry, your "sexist, ill-informed and stupid" taunt doesn't work on me.
Taunts are used by progressives as a substitute for intelligent thought.
Richard Schulte
12:20 pm on Thursday, April 5, 2012
Ms. Monte, the following is "sexist, ill-informed and stupid":
"While Democratic femme-a-gogues continue their plaintive wailing about a “war on women,” [Wisconsin Lt. Governor] Kleefisch has battled vile misogyny from liberal detractors. When lefty Wisconsin radio host John “Sly” Sylvester accused Kleefisch of performing “fellatio on all the talk-show hosts in Milwaukee” and sneered that she had “pulled a train” (a crude phrase for gang sex), feminists remained silent. A former television anchor, small businesswoman and mother of two, Kleefisch’s quiet work on economic development has reaped untold dividends for the state. But if conservatives who preach the gospel of fiscal conservatism do not act, the profligate progressives’ vendetta against Wisconsin may result in the first-ever recall of a lieutenant governor in American history."
http://michellemalkin.com/
Something tells me that you find John Sylvester's comments regarding the Lt. Governor of Wisconsin acceptable.
Sully
12:13 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Richard has to pontificate in order to exhibit his superiority for all to see. He's basically harmless. He lives in a delusion of his own making and tries to invite others to move in, but there are few takers.
How are ya, Rich? Enjoying the weather down there in Florida? Ya know, I think there's a Trader Joe's down there too. I believe at least Naples has one. It's not a bad grocery store at all. I go to the one In Glenview myself.
Richard Schulte
12:22 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Richard Schulte
4:57 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Naples (Florida), me? Oh please-I'm in the "redneck" part of Florida. You know, the part of Florida where all of those unsophisticated gun-totin conservative oafs live-pretty much like Texas here, except that it rains more. Almost heaven.
And yes Sully, there are more black folks here than in Winnetka where you live. Conservatives actually believe in integration, not just talking about it.
Richard Schulte
8:51 am on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Naples (Florida)? Heck Sully, I moved to the "red neck" part of Florida-you know, where the conservative gun-totin' ignorant oafs live. Oh, and guess what, unlike Winnetka, black folks live here too. Conservative white folk actually believe in integration, unlike progressives who just talk about "social justice", but live in all white communities. The "red neck" part of Florida is just like Texas, except it rains. Almost heaven.
Richard Schulte
5:53 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Sorry Sully, but I relocated to "redneck" part of Florida-you know the part of Florida where the dumb gun-totin conservative oafs live. I'll fit in just fine here.
And guess what Sully, black folks live in that part of Florida too and everybody gets along. Conservatives actually believe that black and white folks can get along together. In case you're not familiar with Sully, he's preaches social justice, but lives in Winnetka where there are no black folks, except for the servants and the care-givers.
Richard Schulte
10:33 am on Thursday, April 5, 2012
Sorry Sully, but the progressive censors have removed my response to you once again. I moved from far left Evanston (also know as the Peoples Republic of Evanston) to the "red-neck" part of Florida. Feels good to be among sane people once again.
LaVerne
12:15 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
If they are going to be transparent. Then spill all the beans. How much revenue are we going to lose in property taxes ( I believe this will be taxed as unemproved land once ithe building are toren down for parking lot) and sales taxes
And tell usd details of the million and half on Howard Street
Jersey Girl
6:07 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
What about Trader Joe's beach on Tuesday and Thursdays? That seems to be a big miss here in this article. I for one could care less about Trader Joe's but do care about the City privitizing our beachfront. Couldn't you simply have given free beach passes instead of a cordoned off beach?!
LaVerne
6:31 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
You mean this tid Bit:
As part of the incentive package prepared by City staff to lure a Trader Joe’s to Chicago Avenue, the City will rename the Lee Street Beach "Trader Joe’s Beach," and cordon off about half the beach for the exclusive use of Trader Joe’s employees and invited guests on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Christine Wolf
11:01 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
That was the Roundtable's April Fool's joke!
LaVerne
6:32 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
"The City really needs this store," said the City’s Director of Corporate Largesse Grafton Grant. "We were willing to do whatever it takes. That stretch of Chicago desperately needs grocery options for residents." The location, between the two Evanston Whole Foods locations and about 200 yards from Jewel, gives the Aldi-owned Trader Joe’s a foothold along the stretch that some pundits are already calling "grocery store lane."
"It was clear pretty early on that buying the store a $2 million parking lot was not going to be enough," said Mr. Grant. "We had to find a way to sweeten the pot a bit. And the City’s crack staff hit upon this idea, the beach idea, and suddenly everyone’s eyes lit up. We thought we had them, and we did."
The City will provide life guards, special ID passes, and portable toilets for Trader Joe’s staff. It is expected that the portable facilities will be replaced by brand new, state-of-the-art washrooms as soon as 2015.
Lee Street Beach is the closest to the proposed Trader Joe’s site. "We have numerous beaches here in Evanston," said Mr. Grant. "We can afford to let one of them go, at least part of the time. It’s definitely worth it. I mean, we’re getting a Trader Joe’s after all."
Evanston Eastsider
6:54 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
I think you guys missed the joke.
Christine Wolf
11:02 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
I believe largesse means "excess". That was my first tip off that it was a joke
Jersey Girl
6:56 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Omg was this an April Fool's? Say it is so!
Christine Wolf
11:04 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Interesting how Mr. Schulte pulled down his comment...
Richard Schulte
10:41 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Cristel Mohrman [Patch Deerfield], 9:57 am on Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Richard's comments have been reviewed and restored to this comment thread. We ask our community be fair to all commenters by flagging only comments that are inappropriate, not simply those which with they disagree. If you disagree with something you read, you are welcome to post a comment - as long as it is appropriate. Thank you.
Richard Schulte
10:15 am on Thursday, April 5, 2012
Interesting that Ms. Wolf has corrected her comment-Schulte has posted and re-posted his comments, but the progressive censors keep removing the comments.
Why hasn't Ms. Wolf commented on the censorship? Deerfield Patch addressed the censorship going on.
Richard Schulte
10:43 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Richard Schulte, 10:14 am on Wednesday, March 21, 2012
I appreciate Patch's commitment to free discourse on political subjects.
The censorship practiced by some who have participated in this discussion needs to be condemned.
Although I disagree with Sully, I have no objection to him expressing his viewpoint. In fact, I encourage Sully to express his viewpoint. The more Sully expresses his viewpoint, the more readers will know that he is expressing an extremely radical leftist viewpoint.
The viewpoints expressed by me on Patch are based upon common sense. When common sense is being censored, then you know that we have a big problems in America. And yes, we have big problems in America right now.
Richard Schulte
9:41 am on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Maybe Christine could do a column on censorship and why it is acceptable for progressives to censor viewpoints different from theirs. Yes, let's stamp out all political dissent.
Remember the Berlin Wall was not constructed to keep the West Germans from getting into East Germany, but to keep the East Germans from escaping to West Germany. Apparently, the progressives want the Berlin Wall to be reconstructed so that the people will not be exposed to common sense and alternative ideas like freedom and liberty. Censorship of political thought is what the Stazi did. Are the progressives that censored this thread any different from the Stazi?
Richard Schulte
10:17 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Oh yes, now I know what's got them so upset with me. I told the dirty little secret about Obamacare-everybody gets insured, but since 40 percent of the doctors will be leaving the field because they don't want to practice medicine under Obamacare, there won't be enough doctors to provide health care for everyone-that means health care rationing.
Ooops, looks like Sarah Palin was right about the "death panels". The Democrats/ progressives don't want you to know about the "death panels". OMG-better censor that guy until after the election.
Tell the truth progressives-Obamacare is a disaster. Thank God, the Supremes are going to strike the whole 2,700 pages of the law down. Unfortunately, Obamacare is the reason why the economy isn't recovering-the damage has been done. Millions of people will lose their homes because of the economic damage done by Obamacare. Ouch.
Looks like a Republican landslide in November 2012. Bye, Bye, Barack. Now I know why my posts are being taken down-I'm exposing the progressive "big lie" about the Democrat health care agenda.
Emily Stone
11:17 am on Friday, April 6, 2012
Hi everyone,
I'm going to reiterate the point above made by another Patch editor that Richard pasted in. We have terms of service at Patch for what is acceptable as a comment and what isn't. We don't want bigotry, swearing, threatening language, etc. We do want conversation between neighbors. And neighbors don't always agree. If you disagree with Richard, please either let him know that in the comments or read it and move on. But don't flag his comments simply because you disagree with his opinions.
I've therefore reinstated several of his comments that were deleted by readers.
- Emily
Millie
12:34 pm on Friday, April 6, 2012
I agree read and move on agree or disagree. One part of you comment Emily I have question about. Why did Patch let some of the Bigotry around the School referendum stay
Richard Schulte
8:10 pm on Friday, April 6, 2012
"We are Americans and we have a right to debate." Hillary Clinton
A little civics lesson on Patch-those who deleted the comments on this thread (and the Deerfield Patch article on Romney/teachers salaries) are authoritarians who simply can't tolerate any dissenting opinions.
The difference between the right and the left is clearly defined by this little episode. The left supports authoritarianism, while the right believes in freedom. Generations of Americans before us fought and died for freedom in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WW I and WW II, the Korean War and in the Viet Nam War. The war in Iraq was another war fought to provide the Iraqi people with freedom from tyranny.
In the 1960's, the left supported the freedom to dissent. Now 40 years later, those on the left who once supported the that freedom are now authoritarians-in other words, they support tyranny.
In November 2012, the American people will be given an opportunity to chose between a political party which supports an authoritarian gov't and a political party which supports greater freedom provided by a smaller government. Americans will have the choice to embrace more freedom or embrace a gov't which wants to limit our freedom. Choose wisely.
Our freedom is simply too important to lose to Obamacare or any of the other policies being advocated by the Obama Administration.
I hope that readers find a discussion of freedom on Patch more important than Trader Joe's.
Emily Stone
8:53 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Hi James, could you send me an email (emily.stone@patch.com) and let me know which stories and comments you were bothered by during the school debate. I'll take a look and see if they should come down.
IMHO
7:00 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Can we please try to keep the discussions somewhat related to the original Patch article? Every discussion here seems to quickly digress into an opportunity for the same individuals to rant and rave about the same tired issues and points of view or make personal attacks on others. Yeah okay, we get it. We got it six months ago too. Feel better now? I like Trader Joes and I'm pleased that they're opening a new store in Evanston.
Richard Schulte
8:43 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
John Kerr: "We got it six months ago too. Feel better now?"
Mr. Kerr, a discussion of Trader Joe's coming to Evanston is trivial given the immense problems in America today. Those problems directly impact every resident in Evanston. Your comment above is simply another attempt at censorship through a different method. That method has already been tried and failed.
Ms. Smith and Ms. Monte turned the discussion into a political debate and then the progressive censors came out and turned the discussion to censorship. This discussion would have ended quickly and quitely had not the progressive censors gotten involved.
If you feel that Trader Joe's is so important that you need an endless discussion on Trader Joe's, by all means don't let me stop you-feel free to ignore me. And if you find my remarks on freedom so offensive, don't read them. I find your lack of interest in the problems that America, including Evanston, faces offensive, but I would certainly never want to silence you from expressing your interest in the trivial.
The situation that America finds itself in today is a direct results of citizens who think that Trader Joe's coming to Evanston is an event that merits a lengthy discussion. America is on the brink of civil war and Ms. Wolf and Mr. Kerr want to talk about Trader Joe's-go figure.
IMHO
9:57 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
Sorry but these are absurd comments and you obviously are unable or unwilling to understand my point.
Sully
9:19 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
I think Richard's comments should be highlighted, not taken down. What better way to measure the lunacy of the right wing world. Sure he's offensive and downright crazy, but he's not alone in his beliefs (although I still believe in Rich's case, brain damage must have occurred at some point in his life). The right wing propaganda machine has been feeding these people everything they want to hear and believe for the better part of thirty years. Every bad, bigoted, hateful emotion they feel is articulated for them and reinforced by people like Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, and the whole Fox "news" department. Blame the "others"- the Muslims, the Jews, the blacks, even the women for some. Blame the Godless liberals for all the country's ills. Just don't blame the corporate CEOs and multimillionaires who really control what happens in this country. Don't blame the so-called job makers (who only seem to make jobs for the Chinese and Indians because they cost less), who pay very little taxes and profit more when the middle class profits less. No no. It's the teachers and the government workers and the abortionists, and the homosexuals who are to blame for the economic crisis. Not the two wars or the tax cuts for the wealthiest, or the corporate welfare and subsidies for big oil. Right, Rich?
Richard Schulte
10:16 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Mr. Kerr, I beg your pardon for not addressing the Trader Joe's topic, but I will respond to Sully because he mischaracterizes the thinking of conservatives. Sully apparently has no understanding of what small government conservatives think.
Small gov't conservatives think what our Founding Fathers thought and fought for-the God-given right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". This principle was incorporated in the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of United States is a compact between government and the governed. Government derives its power solely from the consent of the governed.
Sully uses the word "hate" in reference to those who believe in small government. How can that be? Small government conservatives think that we are equal before the law. We do not divide our citizenry up into groups which need to be pitted against one another for partisan political advantage.
We believe that free market capitalism provides the best route for "the pursuit of happiness" for every citizen in this country. Will this result in inequality of wealth?There is no doubt about it, the answer to that question is no. Those that choose to work harder than others deserve to greater wealth.
We also think that socialism is a failed economic system and that this failure has been proven time and again, in countries such as the Soviet Union, North Korea and Cuba. The latest failure of socialism is Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland.
Richard Schulte
10:22 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Ooops. "There is no doubt about it, the answer to that question is no."
Replace the word "no" in the sentence above with a "yes".
Note that wealth as used above (or below) is measured in dollars and other property assets. Wealth can be measured in many ways. Many people, including me, consider "health" to be our greatest asset. If you don't have your health, it really doesn't matter how much money you have.
Richard Schulte
7:12 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Sully: "Every bad, bigoted, hateful emotion they feel is articulated for them and reinforced by people like Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, and the whole Fox "news" department. Blame the "others"- the Muslims, the Jews, the blacks, even the women for some. Blame the Godless liberals for all the country's ills."
Apparently, Sully has never listened to the Rush's show, purused Michelle Malkin's website or read Ann Coulter's books. If Sully had, he would know what he said is false.
Dr. Walter Williams (George Mason University) and Dr. Thomas Sowell (Hoover Institute-Stanford University), both black men with degrees in economics, have hosted Rush's show. Mr. Snerdley [not his real name], the call screener for Rush's show, is also a black male. Would a "racist" use black men as guest hosts on his show or use a black man as a call screener for his show? It's not what you say Sully, it's what you actually do that makes you a "racist".
As for Jewish folks, conservatives solidly support Israel, while Barack Hussein Obama is anti-Israel. Ooops. Conservatives think the Prime Minister of Israel would be a better American president than President Obama.
Based upon Sully's anti-Chinese/anti-Indian comments, most would assume that he's probably a bigot. Based upon what I know about you, I have no doubt that you're a bigot. Sorry, but you live in "lily-white" Winnetka.
"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
Jim
9:43 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
I think you all would agree that the Trader Joe's issue is not very important relative to other issues and it's prominence in this site may indicate that Evanston is in sorry shape from an important story point of view. Additionally, most of us would agree that the United States has some serious problems, some of which are not weighted rationally. The solutions to the problems may make some problems worse or better. Hence the discussions. Passionate points of view should not void the discussion or render it unbearable.
Christine Wolf
10:45 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Who knew that writing an article about a local grocery store coming to town would bring out so many comments on so many tangential topics? What other issues should I cover in the near future?
mij
10:52 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
I have several thoughts:
TIF's
How city define economic development.
How many properties city owns and how much property tax are we losting
What amoun of store sales volume is city manager expecting at TJ's for $500,000 of alses tax revenue
Give me time i'll think of more. ;-)
Richard Schulte
12:02 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Hmmmm. . . how about an interview with Sully. He's quite an interesting character that we should all know. If you do an interview with him, bring wolfbane, garlic and a crucifix (and money to pay for the coffee-he's cheap). Just kidding. Sully, is actually a little chihuahua who yaps a lot, then hides underneath the couch-bring treats along. He's almost house-broken. He's been assigned to follow me around on Patch.
mij
11:36 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
One more:
Perhaps these should be part of a future interview.
Rules for a business to sell liquor by the drink. I know they want to have resturant tied to that. But how much food does a person have to buy? Will order of fries work. If starbucjks stars wine sales here will a bagel be enough?
Richard Schulte
11:50 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012
mij, in answer to your Starbucks question, yes a bagel would be enough and you don't have to eat the bagel.
I have been served alcohol in an Evanston restaurant without purchasing food. The restaurant put a serving of bread on my table, but did not charge me for the bread. The bread was "just in case" food. It's a silly game, but this is Evanston-what isn't silly here.
mij
12:05 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
LOL. Sort of thought that.
Sully
12:09 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
That's true, Richard. Health is important. Too bad many can't afford preventative health care and end up using emergency room services for acute distresses. Services your tax dollars are paying for. Too bad not everyone is born with a silver spoon in mouth like so many of America's wealthiest citizens. Do you really thing W worked harder the average joe? I don't think so (but he did prove to be pretty inept when he was given something to do- does Arbusto ring a bell?). You mistake true conservatives with today's bunch of autocrats and oligarchs (and don't forget the theocrats as well). Richard, you've been duped by masters much more intelligent and savvy than you. Quite a shame.
Richard Schulte
7:23 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Correction-I was under the spell of "liberals" in my 20's, but then I matured into an adult. Liberals/progressives prey on young adults because young adults are easy marks for liberal/progressive emotional arguments.
"If you are not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart and if you are not a conservative when you are older, you have no brain." I have a brain Sully and that makes me a conservative.
I'll let the other obvious conclusion regarding you and other liberals/progressives go unstated.
Evanston Eastsider
1:57 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
"Richard Schulte
1 hour ago
Hmmmm. . . how about an interview with Sully. He's quite an interesting character that we should all know. If you do an interview with him, bring wolfbane, garlic and a crucifix (and money to pay for the coffee-he's cheap). Just kidding. Sully, is actually a little chihuahua who yaps a lot, then hides underneath the couch-bring treats along. He's almost house-broken. He's been assigned to follow me around on Patch."
Patch, is this what you consider "acceptable"? Personal attacks and off topic rantings of lunatics? If you don't begin to monitor and censor your own site, it will continue to be overrun by trolls and these types of comments.
Richard Schulte
6:10 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Yes, you're right Evanston Eastsider, calling Sully a yapping chihuahua is an odius insult. (Please accept my apologies Sully.) Sort of like calling someone a "lunatic" or a "troll". No need to apologize to me Evanston Eastsider, I consider the insults spewed by liberals/progressives to be compliments.
Sully
5:59 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Richard's a tad bit delusional, Eastsider. He will continue his diatribes no matter how many times he is flagged and he will always believe he is the victim of liberals trying to silence him for knowing "too much" or knowing the "truth" that only he can see. He just has to be tolerated or ignored.
Sully
7:24 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
Richard, I have never told you where I live. All you have is an assumption, which I haver neither confirmed nor denied. There is much that you think you know that you do not.
Richard Schulte
8:15 am on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sully, you yap so much, you don't recall what you've told us about yourself. Take a look at your posts just prior to Christmas. You have to admit being a proponent of "social justice" while living in Winnetka is rather "strange". It means that all your "social justice" talk is just that-talk. You don't really practice your "social justice" talk.
You'll note that I have no problem using my full name on my posts on Patch-I don't hide my political views even in "occupied" Crook County, the home of "thug" government. Congresswoman Schakowsky's townhall meeting on Obamacare held in the later summer of 2009 showed me that there are many, many citizens in Crook County who agree with my political viewpoints. Given that Crook County is ruled by "thugs", they choose to remain quiet out of fear of violent retaliation by Democrats.
Democrats have used the Martin/Zimmerman incident in Florida to inflame racial tensions in an election year. The number of people who will be killed or maimed as a result inciting racial unrest is of no interest to Democrat leaders-it's all about maintaining power so that Democrats can continue plundering America.
This does not mean that all Democrats are involved is this sort of thing-some, if not most Democrats, are just pawns.
Sully
8:56 am on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Richard, I have never stated yay or nay where I live. You have chosen once again to believe what you want to believe regardless of the facts.
Richard Schulte
10:53 am on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sully: "I go to the one [Trader Joe's] In Glenview myself."
Sully wants us to believe that he lives in the University of Chicago neighborhood and shops at the Trader Joe's in Glenview. If you go west on Willow Road from Winnetka and then turn south on Waukegan Road, it should take about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the Glenview Trader Joe's from Winnetka. Sully, you can't even tell the truth on Easter.
Not to worry Sully-conservative folks are peaceful people. We believe in the freedom of dissent. We would never come to your home and try to intimidate you. Intimidation is a tactic used by Democrats, not conservatives.
Jim
10:10 am on Sunday, April 8, 2012
It amazes me that folks get more upset by the way things are said rather than the truth and/or wisdom of the content. Should we not be asking ourselves whether there is some truth in the comments posted here or is it just the opinion of the poster. Either way, it is OK. It is up to the reader to figure that out. For sure, the truth can only be approximated by considering many points of view. I think that Richard's voice is somewhat passionate because he believes that Evanstonians are majority liberal/progressive and that his voice is in the minority. I think that this view is largely correct but that not make his views untrue or unwise. Ad hominem attacks, left or right, are counter productive and easily recognized thusly.
Sully
11:06 am on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Shopping at a store in Glenview is proof that I live in Winnetka? Wow. Believe what you wish, Rich. You are too rigid to do anything else.
Richard Schulte
12:22 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
OK, so you live in Kenilworth, not Winnetka-that's a difference without a distinction. I think that still makes you a hypocrite with your concern for "social justice". If you believe in "social justice", sell your Winnetka/Kenilworth home and move to the south or west sides of Chicago and then get back to me.
Mind you, I won't criticize you for being a bigot-I believe in freedom, including the freedom to be a bigot. Bigotry is not prohibited under the Constitution. What I will criticize you for is being a bigot and pretending that you support "social justice" just to address your angst over being white folk.
Conservatives believe in diversity-being wealthy is OK with us. Discriminating against the wealthy because they are successful is still discrimination. In an equal society, everybody should pay the same amount of tax, regardless of their income or wealth. The progressive income tax is nonsense. If anything, the wealthy should pay less taxes because the wealthy are less of a burden.
Democrats want to raise taxes on cigarettes to eliminate the use of the evil tobacco. Using the same logic, we should raise taxes on poor people to eliminate poverty. Let's make it so onerous to be poor that people will escape poverty simply to escape paying higher taxes. Subsidizing poverty with gov't assistance simply encourages the poor to remain so. Instead of a hand-out, how about a hand-up.
Jim
11:28 am on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sully,
I don't care where you live. Populations approach the mean where wisdom and intellect are considered regardless of living in Winnetka, Evanston or Glenview. You may be above or below the mean or near it. You are certainly articulate. There are, however, undoubtedly some folks in Evanston, poor and/or minority who are wiser and/or smarter than some folks in Winnetka and visa-versa. But every viewpoint is worth considering.
Richard Schulte
11:37 am on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Jim, after 29 years of living in Evanston, I have relocated to the "red neck" part of Florida. (The "red neck" part of Florida is "the land of the free and the home of the brave". Elgin Air Force Base and the Pensacola Naval Air Station are located nearby. The Pensacola NAS is the home of the Blue Angels.) Progressives are few and far between here.
Evanston is known as the People's Republic of Evanston for good reason. The progressives have taken over the place.
Jim
12:14 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Yes, the prevailing sentiments in Evanston seem to be "progressive", sometimes lacking in a sense of reality and oblivious to the lessons of the past. That is OK with me because I am free to move elsewhere and may very well do so as a matter of principle. If the community wants to tax and regulate themselves into a sad state, so be it. That is their choice. Fortunately there is still enough freedom about for me and others to vote with our feet.
Richard Schulte
12:49 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Yes, fortunately, we still have the freedom to vote with our feet. Still it is a shame to see such a lovely place like Evanston being destroyed by progressives.
Chicago was once a great city, but Mayor Daley and his political machine bankrupted Chicago, along with the State of Illinois. Then, when Daley saw what he did, he decided to "get out of Dodge". Run for your lives-the results of the Daley bankruptcy are only just beginning to be felt, and as Chicago goes, so goes Evanston.
The population of Chicago is now the same as it was in 1920 and the population is continuing to decline. Chicago was named as the most corrupt city in America. The future of the region looks bleak-think Detroit.
In 1900, St. Louis was the 4th largest city in America and New Orleans was the 8th largest city in America. Now, St. Louis and New Orleans are not even in the top 20 largest cities in America. Like St. Louis and New Orleans, Chicago is a dying city-the Daley machine stabbed Chicago in the back.
Getting rid of the Chicago/Crook County Democrat machine would be the best thing that could happen to Chicago (and Illinois), but given the straggle-hold that Democrats have on Chicago, that is unlikely to happen. The history of Detroit, St. Louis and New Orleans should be warning enough.
Sully
12:10 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
You have missed the point, Richard. You are convinced you know where I live, when in reality, you have no idea. Might that just indicate you could be wrong about other things as well. Naw, probably not, right? You so badly want to exert your all knowing intellect when in fact, you are an insecure child. Trying to prove yourself to whomever you can. That's the bottom line, Rich. You are a rigid ideologue who wants to feel important. You pontificate right wing talking points because the right wing preys on your basest emotions and realizes that is the best way to win over those who are not secure enough to think for themselves. They feed you everything you want to hear by making America an us vs. them nation. Good vs. evil, God-fearing vs. the Godless. A nation in terminal conflict with itself so that the people are too distracted to notice the reality of the situation. That's you, Rich. Just want the right wing power structure wants. Now go ahead and quote some politician for us. You like Reagan. Funny thing is, Reagan would be too liberal for today's bunch of republicans.
Richard Schulte
1:10 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sully, I agree with you for, perhaps, the first time. You are absolutely correct-this is a battle of "good vs. evil" and "God-fearing vs. the Godless". History tells us of the evil propagated by Stalin, Castro and Kim, yet you advocate for the system that resulted in the murder of millions of people. Stalin, Castro and Kim replaced religion with a Godless society and you see what mayhem resulted.
Socialism has failed not only in Russia, Cuba and North Korea, but also in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. How much more proof to you need that socialism destroys everything that it touches?
In the early 1970's, Allende was elected to lead Chile and he imposed socialism on the nation. The Chilean economy was destroyed. Fortunately for Chileans, General Pinochet removed Allende (with a bullet) and vanquished the socialists. Now Chile is once more a properous country with a social security system better than the social security system in the US.
How much more proof do you need that what you advocate is "evil"?
Sully
12:29 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Rich, this just goes whoosh right over your head.
Richard Schulte
1:17 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Hardly-I agree with you about "good vs. evil" and "God-fearing vs. Godless". Your way is corrupt and evil-conservatives are not going to compromise with corruption and evil. Compromising with evil simply means that you accept evil-sorry, it ain't going to happen.
Jim
1:35 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Yes, there are plenty of examples. Read Will Durant's Lessons of History and the lessons of history are plain to see. Frankly, I do not see much hope for Illinois, Chicago or Evanston, all bankrupt and hooked on silliness and deception. Yes, Evanston is a beautiful place but the handwriting may be plain to see. Bruno Bettleheim, the famed psychiatrist explained at least partially the disaster in WWII
Europe by calling attention to a desire to maintain "business as usual" in the face of the declared intentions of political evil-doers. In other words, it might be best to leave too early than too late.
Richard Schulte
2:26 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sorry to have to say this, but I think that we face two choices-divorce (secession) or civil war. The civil war will pit the private sector (Republicans) against the public sector (Democrats). The pensions that the public sector has been awarded are simply not sustainable and the private sector will eventually say we aren't going to pay the pension benefits promised and then all hell is going to break loose.
Think it can't happen? A small municipality outside of Mobile, Alabama has already stopped paying pensions benefits to retired muncipal employees. It was a choice between street lighting or pension benefits.
With the impending bankruptcy of many gov't entities, this problem is going to spread across the nation. The teachers' riot in Madison, Wisconsin was just the beginning of this battle.
With the Democrats refusing to address the issue, only two choices are viable options-divorce or civil war.
Jim
1:40 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
By the way, the above off-track discussion is entirely relevant to Trader Joe's given all the self important hooha about a grocery store opening in a suburb of 80,000 adjacent to Chicago. My goodness!
John Brinkmann
2:37 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
this really getting beyond goofy here---I've refrained from calling people out by name in the past but the heck with that now---Richard & Sully---KNOCK IT OFF---both of you are boring and way out of line line---Christine's bit is a well written interview piece about Trader Joe's with the City Manager---and she hits a home run with questions I've been very curious about myself such as how NU played a part here regarding the alley---But NOOOOOOOOO---both of you once again turn every freaking article into your own ugly, petty, and personal war of political ideologies---I think it's time for Patch to set up a private little room just for the two of you---and you can have at it all you want-----or learn to stick with the topic as stated
Richard Schulte
4:04 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sorry Mr. Brinkmann, but Trader Joe's is coming to town. Not much else to say about it, is there? If this is the biggest news in Evanston, then there is more going on in a rural town in Arkansas than there is in Evanston.
I'm sure you don't like hearing about the bankruptcy of Evanston, Chicago and the State of Illinois, particularly if you're a Democrat. We know who bankrupted Evanston, Chicago and Illinois. Time for the Dems to stand up and admit it.
Your comment is just another attempt at censorship. That was tried once on this thread already. Evanston is about local news and the biggest local news is being discussed on this thread at present.
Sully
4:36 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
Wrong again, Rich. Mr. Brinkmann is not trying to censor you because he disagrees with you. I'm fairly sure he is not a dem. He just wants you (and me) to stfu! So Rich, take a break why don't ya? Go enjoy your redneck riviera. Have a nice rest of Easter, Mr. Brinkmann!
Richard Schulte
4:57 pm on Sunday, April 8, 2012
"We are Americans and we have a right to debate." Hillary Clinton
Wait a minute here, you mean that what Hillary told us when George Bush was the President of the United States no longer applies. Ahhh, yes, when a Democrat is in the Oval Office, the oppositioin is just supposed keep quiet and allow him to do whatever he pleases. Sorry, but we had to listen to you for 8 long years when [President] Bush was in office, now it's our turn. We'll shut up on election night in November 2012.
I wonder if Mr. Brinkmann or Sully ever told Cindy Sheehan to sit down and shut up? If I recall correctly, Sheehan was out protesting for a couple of years-it seemed more like an eternity.
John Brinkmann
11:32 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
okay---exactly the kind of reply I expected---continued lack of understanding the point---but "censorship" and "redneck riviera"--(whatever that means)???---I never made any reference to censorship but merely stated the facts supported by your replies that both of you continue to drag out an ugly war of words in Patch articles regardless of the topic---do either one of you ever bother to scroll back and take note of what you post?---name calling and even engaging in arguments over where you reside???---please refer to posts by John Kerr and editor Emily Stone---from Kerr--"Can we please try to keep the discussions somewhat related to the original Patch article? Every discussion here seems to quickly digress into an opportunity for the same individuals to rant and rave about the same tired issues and points of view or make personal attacks on others"---and from the editor---"We have terms of service at Patch for what is acceptable as a comment and what isn't. We don't want bigotry, swearing, threatening language, etc. We do want conversation between neighbors"----obviously I don't stand alone in my opinion, and further believe both of you might be better served to exchange e-mail addresses so you can blast away at each other all day long---or try and keep it to the point in a civil manner---and take note---I somehow managed to post this reply sans the name calling or snotty comments
Richard Schulte
7:55 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
More on pension "problem" in Illinois:
"The Chicago Tribune reports Surprise! You owe another $54 billion
The state of Illinois admits to $83 billion in pension underfunding, a staggering weight on today's and tomorrow's taxpayers. Add to that the as yet uncalculated billions in unfunded pension obligations for city, county and other local governments.
A second, often overlooked time bomb merrily ticking for governments nationwide is the cost of health insurance for all those retirees. That number, too, is hard to gauge, because health care costs — like future investment returns — are unknowable. Yet governments typically don't put aside money for future health care, as they do for future pensions. The culture is to pay-as-you-go."
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2012/04/09/union_label_stuck_to_137_billion_in_illinois_state_debt
Look what [President] Bush did to the State of Illinois. Some how this is Bush's fault.
And yes, since Evanston is located in the State of Illinois, it's a local story. Much more interesting than Trader Joe's, wouldn't you agree Mr. Brinkmann?
Emily Stone
8:20 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
I'm going to jump in and try to steer this ship back onto its original course. While we love hosting a good debate on Patch, we want to make sure that everyone who wants to can join the conversation on a range of topics. There are other places to discuss state and national politics -- both on political stories on Patch and elsewhere on the web. Let's keep this thread to the original issue of Trader Joe's and the city's economic development plans.
Whether you think it's valid or not, lots and lots of readers care about both those issues and I'd like to hear more of their thoughts. Please jump in with what you think about the city's plan for TJ's parking and other development sites around the city. And if you have questions you'd like to hear Christine ask the city manager in the future, please let her know.
Thanks in advance for cooperating.
jim
8:55 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
Be easier to stay on track if auther would respond to questions:
fred
9:49 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Christine Wolf you failed to ask Mr Bobkiewicz what kind of sales he expeccts at Trader Joes to generate that kind of sales tax revenue. Remember this is a Grocery Store
This was ignored.
Richard Schulte
9:21 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
Ms. Stone, I suggested several topics that I hope that Patch will address. I believe these suggestions were removed, so here's a few of them:
Interviews of people at the employment (unemployment) center on Oakton Street near the the Subaru dealership.
Foreclosures in Evanston and how people who become homeless are coping with being homeless.
City of Evanston pension benefits and pension liabilities. (The Daily Northwestern did an article on this a few months ago.)
Vacant buildings and vacant tenant spaces in Evanston.
"Red tape" in Evanston
City employee work habits-why not follow city employees around to see if they are actually working (or just collecting a paycheck)
A list of all the committtees and commissions that the City of Evanston has
The age and condition of the infrastructure in Evanston
A report on the schedule for installing the bridge sitting in the parking lot at Jewel on Chicago Avenue
I'm sure other can think of many more topics that affect the pocketbooks of taxpayers in Evanston.
Emily Stone
9:44 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your list of ideas. There are some very good ones in there. One of those we've got as an ongoing series called "Empty in Evanston" looking at vacant commercial spaces, and has been very popular with readers.
The site will be getting a new full-time editor by the end of the month (I'm a manager for the region and have been wearing two hats filling in here for a while) and I will be sure to pass this list along to her when she's officially in place.
Thanks,
Emily
Sully
11:40 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
Mr Binkmann, the gulf coast along Alabama and Florida is locally known as "The Redneck Riviera".
Richard Schulte
2:44 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Messrs. Kerr's and Brinkmann's comments are quite distressing to read. To hear American citizens state publicly on Patch that they want public political discourse to cease seems to be a sign of the times-no wonder Evanston, Illinois and this nation are in such sad shape.
As you can see from the comments already posted, there isn't a whole to say about Trader Joe's coming to Evanston.
For someone not to know that the Gulf Coast is referred to as the "Redneck Rivieria" is also interesting-perhaps that person has never heard of Lake Michigan either. You never know what you'll learn on Patch-listening to Sully and me discuss politics is educational, not only from a political standpoint, but also from a geography standpoint.
Although Sully and I disagree, I appreciate Sully's involvement in the political process. I would hope that every voter in elections held in this country took the time to educate themselves as both Sully and I have. Thumbs up Sully.
Sully
3:17 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Richard, neither is advocating that political discourse cease. They are speaking specifically to THIS case on this thread. And why would someone not familiar with the southeast region of the country be familiar with its local terms? You are not being persecuted.
Christine Wolf
3:26 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Fred, I didn't ignore your question. I was on vacation (in the Redneck Riviera, of all places...I'm not kidding) from 3/31 until now.
I did ask Mr. Bobkiewicz the question about expected/anticipated revenue (detailed in a related article on Patch last week). He answered, "We expect that it’ll generate between $400,000 to $500,000 a year in sales tax revenue," which tells me the City has extrapolated those numbers from sales projections from Trader Joe's stores in combination with sales figures of Evanston's Jewel-Osco and Whole Foods stores.
Regarding the term "Redneck Riviera", I'd never heard the term prior to 2011 (when I visited the area for the first time). I've lived in the Chicago area my entire life, and I'd always learned not to call people anything other than "people". You didn't call someone black or white or Asian or Polish. They were just your friends. If I'd called anyone a "redneck", I'd have had my mouth washed out or (when I was older) served a detention.
I'm in the car right now driving back from Cape San Blas, Florida (located in the aforementioned "Redneck Riviera"). I asked my husband, an attorney, what he thought of the term "redneck". He gave me a one word answer: derogatory. My daughter answered "red pickup truck." My older son responded, "not smart." As my unofficial poll demonstrates, the term "redneck" isn't an acceptable term in my household (or my minivan, as it were).
Christine Wolf
3:45 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Richard, I think you might just be suffering a little bit of jealousy over not having a Trader Joe's near you (though the first TJs in Florida opened in February in Naples...see http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/feb/10/shoppers-mob-trader-joe-first-florida-store-naples/); they've even got a PUBLIX and a Whole Foods in the same town!
Jim
7:58 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Oh dear. Christine, you need to widen your horizon. Redneck is only derogatory to folks who do not know anything about the south or it's varied culture. The term redneck is no more derogatory than calling someone a Tunisian or Moroccan. And even if it were derogatory, bias is only destructive if linked to discriminatory actions. In reality there are people of many different cultures and characteristics and to deny their descriptions is somewhat naive and erroneous. Did you try alligator tail or swamp cabbage while you were vacationing?
Sully
9:33 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
I have to disagree with you, Jim. Redneck can be very derogatory. Although the Gulf Coast of 'Bama and Florida is referred to by that name affectionately, when individuals are called that, it is usually not meant as a compliment. Upper middle class southerners do not mean it in a good way when they call less fortunate southerners by that name.
Jim
8:46 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
OK. So back on track. What Evanston is trying to do with Trader Joe is state capitalism of a sort given the purchase of real estate for the company operation (parking).Evanston thereby exerts sufficient leverage on the company. We could really use a small department store like Von Mauer in Evanston. We have sufficient restaurants, grocers
Richard Schulte
5:19 am on Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The term "red neck" is no more offensive than the term "right winger". ("Right winger" is intended to be an offensive term.) "Red neck" is only an offensive term if you let yourself be offended by its use. I consider myself to be a "red neck", but I am college-educated and don't live in a mobile home. My definition of the "red neck" is someone who is self-sufficient and doesn't need, or want, government to tell him what to do-think those folks from Texas.
The left considers all "right wingers" to be stupid. Calling conservatives stupid is a way for the left to elevate themselves, while at the same time putting conservatives down. You can see that in Sully's comments.
Recall that Democrats called Ronald Reagan stupid and considered President Bush to be dumb because he was not a polished speaker (like Mayor Daley). Being a polished speaker is not an indication of one's intelligence.
With respect to Sully's comment about "persecution", Sully's objective is to muzzle the expression of dissent by conservatives. He's tried challenging me, mocking me, deleting my comments and now "the staying on topic" strategy. Sully follows me around on Patch-I'm pretty sure he's a Democrat operative. Notice Sully said that he was pretty sure that Mr. Brinkmann was not a Democrat, as if he knows every Democrat in the area.
Sully is the master of "off topic" posts, but I refuse to allow him to make "off-topic" remarks without a response.
Sully
6:42 am on Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Sure thing Rich. Whatever you say.