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With one breath, Wheeling Village President Sheila H. Schultz claims that "The area that needs improvement is our commercial/retail ...." (p. 5, Wheeling Countryside, Feb. 27, 1997) Yet, with her next breath, Schultz wants to condemn the building at the southwest corner of Dundee and Milwaukee, which houses ARA Cabinets 4 U. Schultz maintains that she wants to attract new business to Wheeling, despite the fact that she insists on throwing out the thriving kitchen and bath cabinet business that has been remodeling homes throughout the north and northwest suburbs for nearly five years.
And what is Schultz going to put in its place? Why, an empty lot, just like the one that adorns the opposite (northeast) corner of Dundee and Milwaukee. Now how many tax dollars do you think that's going to add to Wheeling's coffers?
The owner of ARA Cabinets 4 U, Jeffrey Pike, had a dream to open a kitchen and bath shop. Like his father, uncles, and cousins before him, whose long-gone businesses had provided him with many years of valuable experience, Pike wanted to open his own showroom. In July of 1992, Pike converted his dream into reality by renting the dirty, broken-down storefront that was occupying the first floor of 4 S. Milwaukee. Doing much of the work himself, with some help from relatives and long-time business associates, Pike opened the beautiful cabinet showroom the day after Labor Day 1992.
During the ensuing four and one half years, Pike and his older brother Sheldon had built up ARA Cabinets 4 U by offering personalized service on good-quality merchandise that they sold at fair prices. Today the family owned enterprise provides exactly what the Wheeling Village President evidently wants: a thriving business that Wheeling can be proud of and that draws customers (and their sales tax dollars) from miles around.
Despite all of this, Schultz appears to be cutting off her nose to spite her face. On March 3rd, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) began a major project involving the widening of Milwaukee Avenue between Wolf Road (just south of Lake Cook Road) and Palatine Road. Schultz is allowing IDOT to spend $258,000 of the taxpayers' money to buy approximately 0.02 acres on the corner at Dundee and Milwaukee and cut off a sliver of the front of the building that houses ARA Cabinets 4 U. (This is being done because the new road design brought the street slightly closer to the front corner of the building.) Afterward, Wheeling officials want to buy the remainder of the property and raze it because they believe the corner would look better without the 50-year-old building there. Schultz states that "You are not bettering the situation at all" by rebuilding the structure's facade because it still would be too close to Milwaukee Avenue.
It doesn't matter that it has been that way for the last 50 years. And forget the fact that this downtown area of Wheeling, which has been blighted by abandoned Sportmart and Mobil (gas station) buildings, finally has a booming business that is bringing in more than its share of tax revenue. Ignore the small businessman trying to eke out a living for him and his family. Schultz wants to throw out one of the very businesses that she claims Wheeling is trying to attract. Apparently Schultz believes that it's okay to waste hundreds of thousands (or millions) of dollars of taxpayers' money on buying yet another building in downtown Wheeling and tearing it down. Obviously Schultz doesn't feel that it's better to spend a few dollars sprucing up the exterior of the old bank building (the current home of ARA Cabinets 4 U). She'd rather spend more money razing buildings and attracting new businesses by using tax incentives (i.e., refusing to accept tax dollars). Except her plans for this parcel won't generate any tax revenue; it'll just be another empty lot at the corner of Dundee and Milwaukee.
So, what can the Pike boys and ARA Cabinets 4 U do about this apparent lack of foresight on the village's part? Like any other individual or small business when facing up to the government, nothing. Just move to another location (in or out of Wheeling's borders) and take their sales tax dollars with them. Is it fair? Of course not. Is it rare? Not in Wheeling. The village has already forced out at least one other long-established business, a very popular florist, just north of this downtown corner, and evidently, they are striving to do it again. Oh, and ARA Cabinets 4 U is not the only small business that occupies the 4 S. Milwaukee building. Other firms occupy several small offices on the second floor, including the building's owner, Leonard Hey. But no matter, the village officials can do without the tax revenue. They can always give a non-Wheeling business a tax break to move elsewhere in the village. After all, it's not their money.
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