Marathon Pundit: ILL-inois: Chicago alderman holding 200 jobs hostage because he wants to reward campaign contributor

2014 Ford Mustang

This should be an uplifting story about a business adding dozens of jobs in Chicago.

Ah, but I'm talking about Chicago--you just know the pols will find a way to louse things up. An car dealer wishes to expand, but an alderman wants the auto giant to give "a ticket," that is a dealership to political contributor.

Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business explains:

The developers of a huge Ford dealership proposed for the North Side are giving Chicago politicians until the end of next month to quit futzing around with their zoning application or risk losing an investment worth more than $50 million in the city.

"Oct. 1 is the final deadline," Monica Sekulich, senior vice president and general counsel at Fox Motors, told me in a phone conversation. "This entire situation has been quite surprising to us."

Ms. Sekulich was on vacation and unavailable for comment last week when I wrote a column for this week's issue of Crain's about how Fox proposes to build a $57 million, 102,000-square-foot dealership on an old industrial site near Elston and Fullerton avenues, but has hit a political roadblock — even though local Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, is all for it. The full-service dealership would employ about 200 people, and the development represents a turning of the tide after decades of auto businesses mostly fleeing to the suburbs.

As I reported, City Council Zoning Committee Chairman Danny Solis, 25th, has twice held up

a vote on a needed rezoning, requesting that Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford Motor Co. provide another dealership opportunity for a Latino — a specific Latino, who just happens to be a large campaign contributor to Mr. Solis' ward organization. But Ford says it isn't awarding new dealerships to anyone, and Fox, a division of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based FMG Holdings LLC, is a relatively small firm busy on the proposed 32nd Ward project.

In short, Solis is holding hostage 200 jobs and a $57 million investment on the unlikely chance that Ford not only begins to offer new dealerships, but that it gives the ticket to Solis' campaign contributor. As for Fox, it would be moving a closed dealership up north from the Near South Side.

Hinz correctly points out that Chicago auto dealers have been bolting for the suburbs for years. Land is less scarce there, and bigger parking lots means more inventory which means more sales. People who live ni Chicago are going to buy a car somewhere. So the move by Fox should be welcomed by the City Council. Also, dealership employees, particularly the sales force, are often daily patrons of nearby fast-food outlets. The hours are long--and you never know when that appointment will show up--or when the next customer walks in. So they don't leave and the meals are usually delivered. So a Fox dealership on the North Side would be a shot in the arm for fast-food purveyors too. And probably many other businesses.

Tell that to public servant Solis.

Oh. the Chicago area unemployment rate is 10.3 percent.

Disclosure: Yes, I work in the car business. And I know two people who work for Fox. But no one asked me to post this entry.

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