advertisement

Rethink support of Longmeadow plan?

To the village officials of West Dundee:

Hear that whooshing noise? That's the sound of more of your retail businesses (read "tax revenues") fleeing from your village to Randall Road in Algonquin if the proposed Longmeadow Parkway/toll bridge goes in.

Here's a list of retailers who used to be located West Dundee:

• J.C. Penny

• Best Buy

• Target

• Office Max

• TJ Maxx

• Michaels

• Toys R Us

• Pier One Imports

Where are they now? North Randall Road in Algonquin.

Now, imagine what happens when the Longmeadow/Randall intersection starts developing. It's a prime location where vacant property is abundant. The northerly Randall strip is the shopping mecca where retailers want to be. Algonquin's land use plan at Longmeadow already envisions Galleria II, Galleria III and a 700 acre corporate campus. It's bye-bye to more of your stores and tax base.

Your Spring & Summer Village Newsletter in seven places touches on the issues of "dramatically increased competition from neighboring communities," a 41 percent decline in sales tax since 2008 and an anticipated $65,000 drop in sales tax in your FY 2015-2016 budget. What happened? Algonquin benefited. At your expense.

What's more, Spring Hill Mall is on life support. Talk is of pumping in $30 million or more to resuscitate it.

Yet I understand that your village officially supports Longmeadow. Can you explain why, in light of the exodus of businesses to Randall? Longmeadow looks like a sure bet to increase competition from "neighboring communities." Are you sure that supporting the proposed new highway is a good way to protect that Spring Hill investment?

George E. Johnson

Dundee Township

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.