What about incentives in Target closings?
A recent Op-Ed column in the Daily Herald concerning Target stores' decision to close two South Side stores while opening two stores in affluent North Side locations left out a key component.
Yes, Illinois' business climate is atrocious, and, yes, Chicago's mandated minimum wage stresses businesses that can't automatically transfer those high cost onto consumers. However, the political powers that be, led in this instance by Mayor Emanuel, while lamenting the close of the two stores, are willingly offering Target incentives to build the two new stores.
Did anybody think to tie the new store incentives to maintaining the old stores? Does anyone really believe Target would not have opened those two stores without the incentives? Those new locations are gold mines and Target knew it.
The disingenuousness of Emanuel and politicians in general is just more of the same.
Steve Sarich
Grayslake