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Last year, the Magnificent Mile district saw $3.8 billion in consumer spending, and it accounts for 17% of all Chicago jobs, according to the Magnificent Mile Association. But a new Harris Poll found that only about 53% of Cook County respondents said they feel safe downtown.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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There was a news story about Woodfield Mall being temporaryly closed due to so many shoppers being there and it was overcrowded. On Michigan Ave all 3 of the holiday shoppers said they had great experience.
They’re trying to give the appearance of safety but they are not addressing the root causes ( it’s not systemic disinvestment Brandon). I walk down Michigan Avenue almost every day and see police cars and officers on almost every block. That still wasn’t enough to keep a woman from getting wacked in the head with a log and knocked unconscious. Maybe once they get the will to keep violent offenders behind bars then we may start to see an improvement.
Spot on with “the appearance of safety “.
The National Guard could be patrolling Michigan Avenue and the people who no longer shop there are still never coming back. Once people decided that downtown Chicago is a no-go zone, it will always be a no-go to them. There are many safer alternatives to visit where you won’t be targeted for the color of your skin.
In business, once you drive away a loyal customer, especially through sheer stupidity, they’re gone forever.
Chicago was mostly a no-go for suburbanites for many years between 1968 following the riots and the mid-90’s. Some came into the city limits on occasion, mostly to visit elderly parents or relatives, and looking at the decorated windows on State Street for Christmas was a very popular event for families for many years. Some of my earliest memories of Chicago involved getting hot chocolate in the Walgreens basement on State St. and looking at the windows with my great-grandfather. But now, I have zero remaining relatives in the city limits, the windows are gone, and the stores on Michigan… Read more »
I never knew that there was a Walgreen’s basement.
My aunt used to take me to the soda fountain in the Marshall Fields bargain basement. Macys still had a food department in their basement last time I walked through the Pedway before I left town.
Talk about a waste of resources? Make it safe place where no one goes to. Downtown is a thing of the past. Online shopping and regional malls rule the shopping game. Many offices are vacant and more vacancies to come. Foreclosures will soon be at a record high. Downtown is dying right before your eyes.
The Mug Mile is on life support.
If you want to read aboutthe Mile’s ghost of Christmas Future just research the Downtown Detroit retail landscape. At one timeit was vibrant.