Quote:
Originally Posted by jtown,man
Why is always a joke to you guys?
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Because an anecdotal story about a brick-and-mortar retail owner struggling to stay in business is not an indictment of rules and regulations as much as it is of the state of American society in 2021 (chiefly online shopping, COVID) and is something one could find in any city, despite what the right-leaning, John Kass-readers of Chicago want to believe. How much ink has been spilled over the past two decades about the "death of retail"? This is not a Chicago-centric problem.
In our city's case, there is plenty of blame to go around for the struggles of both business and residents, and a fair-minded person can level them all over the political spectrum (looking at you, Kim Foxx). The conservative (culturally if not politically) voices that fear lack of parking (Ashland BRT, we hardly knew ye), increased density (death to SFH zoning!), or neighbors from different socio-economic classes (like hero Ald. Jim Gardner) are as much to blame for the woes of neighborhood businesses as rising taxes. I agree that all factors considered, it is an EXTREMELY difficult business environment--but to conveniently try to blame some vague "regulations" bogeyman is at best lazy and at worst dishonest. So we just laugh.