Protests 'favoritism' over Blues Fest
Last year I publicly expressed that in my 40 years of operating my restaurant Ye Olde Town Inn in Mount Prospect, I have never seen such a shamelessly blatant abuse of mine and other Mount Prospect taxpayers' money for the benefit of one individual or business.
I am of course speaking of the mayor and trustees permitting the owner of the Blues Bar, Errol Oztekin, to be the sole benefactor of a public event by adding a "Blues Fest" to the upcoming Fine Arts Festival. Here we are a year later and nothing has changed.
It is worth repeating that the Fine Arts Festival and Blues Fest are Mount Prospect public events, held on public property, organized by a public commission and promoted with public funds. So as a Mount Prospect taxpayer, I believe I'm entitled to question how Errol Oztekin gets to be the Blues Fest sole sponsor for the sole privilege of profiting from a public event paid with my tax dollars.
I would have, as many other Mount Prospect businesses would have also, been willing to sponsor or even participate in the Blues Fest. Yet again the village never attempted to include me or any other Mount Prospect business, to my knowledge.
I think a Blues Fest is a good idea and considering for over 40 years my property tax, sales tax, business and other license fees have helped support Mount Prospect, I was puzzled by some of the criticism I received for exposing the mayor's and trustees' favoritism toward one business owner.
Since they have no shame in showing their favoritism, I am left with no other alternative than to be shameless in promoting my restaurant as the Ye Olde Town Blues Inn, offer all menu items for half price including a special three-quarter pound Jake & Elwood's "Blue(s) cheese-Burger-cheese-Burger." Hopefully I can book a couple of Blues bands to promote Blues on Busse on June 20.
I would encourage other Mount Prospect business owners to act in the same shameless manner for their own survival.
Tod Curtis, owner
Ye Olde Town Inn
Mount Prospect