Boarders Group has entered Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings after failing to come to terms with their creditors. A tentative list of store closings indicates that their Oak Park location will be spared.
For a list of closings visit http://www.bordersreorganization.com/Reorganization_Closure_List.pdf
According to published reports in both the Chicago Sun Times and Wall Street Journal, there has been a decrease in the population in Chicago of about 6.9% to 2,695,598 people, fewer than the 2.7 million reported back in 1920. Cook County, dominated by the City of Chicago, also fell 3.4% during the decade. But it remained by far the state of Illinois most populous county, with about 5.2 million people.
In contrast there’s been explosive growth of suburbs far outside Chicago produced huge gains in neighboring counties. Kane County grew by 27.5%, Will County by nearly 35% and Lake County by 9.2%, while DuPage grew a more modest 1.4%.
We wonder if this might be a cautionary tale for local governments bent on raising tax revenues and quashing business investment, leaving behind only those who can not afford to move… And we wonder how the Democratic Party dominated Illinois House will cope with this demographic shift…
From our friend, Attorney Robert J. Ross from the Law Offices of Robert J. Ross…
Season Tickets Cannot be Seized
When a taxpayer failed to pay their Federal Income Taxes, the IRS issued a levy against the taxpayer. Among the taxpayer’s possessions was a block of 16 season tickets for a professional sports team. The taxpayer had paid a deposit per seat as a “personal seat license,” and on top of the cost for the season tickets themselves.
The IRS wanted to seize and sell the season ticket renewal rights, treating it as a form of “property or rights to property” under Federal law. The sports team objected but did sat that if it received a levy it would pay out the taxpayer’s deposit for the personal seat licenses. The team’s policy provided that the right to renew season tickets was not transferable and that if a ticket holder did not renew, the tickets would pass to the next person on a very long waiting list of individuals seeking season tickets.
In issuing an Advisory Opinion in favor of the sports team’s position, the IRS found no precedents on the precise issue, but borrowed from bankruptcy cases in which the bankruptcy trustee sold the taxpayer’s season ticket renewals as property of the estate. In that context, the decisive favor was the team’s policy – if it treated a right to renew as transferable, it was “property”, but if, as in the case at hand, it did not allow transfers, the right to renew was not a property right that could be sold.
As a result, the IRS could not touch the taxpayer’s right to renew his season tickets to satisfy the taxes owed, but it could go after the personal seat licenses for which the taxpayer had paid a deposit. A tax lien would attach to them, putting the IRS into the taxpayer’s shoes and allowing the IRS to terminate the season tickets and receive a refund of the personal seat licenses deposit. The individuals next in line for the tickets were no doubt very pleased.
Who knew it could be so complicated?
“There is less to fear from outside competition than from inside inefficiency, discourtesy, and bad service.”
“A satisfied customer is the best advertisement.” — Anonymous American sayings
Tina Valentino is the Editor/Publisher
Marketing. I must confess that I did not watch the State of the Union message. From some vantage points, I actually know and feel more than the President of the United States. I was never good at math but I do know that trillions are way too much. The President — and the Governor for that matter — have no idea that the cost of operating my small business, for example, has become oppressive. The Federal and State and County taxes, the increased cost of printing, gasoline, postage, licenses, permits, annual fees and changing technology are staggering, with little relief in sight. Because I can empathize, one of the many things that distinguishes Neighbors from other publications is that we go above and beyond to promote our advertisers, whether they be small storefronts or corporate giants. By word of mouth, at various Chamber meetings and networking events, through e-blasts, our Facebook page and monthly e-mails that resemble mini newsletters, I make it my business to promote their businesses. Their advertising floats this boat and keeps the magazine not just circulating — but free.
Business owners worry well beyond the hours of 9 to 5. Every day when I am out on the road, I hear the same stories: business is slow, numbers are down, lay offs are up and unemployment is high. Over the last decade, I dare say I have learned more about business and marketing than any university can teach; owners should seriously consider taking a closer look at their businesses from a consumer’s point of view rather than clinging to the hyped-up verbiage of any politician’s speech and losing sleep over advances in China. As the anonymous saying goes, there is less to fear from outside competition than from inside inefficiency, discourtesy, and bad service.
Ripe with simple ideas, I offer my State of the Onion address to moaning business owners who stink at utilizing the marketing tools that cost them nothing. Your ad in Neighbors is working — it’s that long face that greets people at the door instead of a smile that turns customers away. When I order soup “to go” and get three forks, Ranch dressing and no spoon, it turns people off. When you can’t take the time to shovel and sprinkle salt around your business in the winter, people will find somewhere else to spend their money. When a live person simply cannot be reached even after tolerating every language and exhausting every option, your business will suffer.
When I ask for no garlic only to get a mouthful, I won’t be back. When your business decor is comprised of mismatched tables and chairs, wobbly stools and drapery that looks like an old prop from the Carol Burnett Show, it’s time to subscribe to HGTV. If you have a business on North Avenue and an 8 x 10 sign in the window promoting a good deal, know that it definitely will not be read by the thousands of cars traveling on this busy state highway. Call us instead. Further, if you price gouge, bounce checks, blow off emails, messages and invoices and think your time is more valuable than anyone else’s, you might make a better employee. No one can be all things to all people but for businesses to thrive and prosper, especially in the current climate, consider this free marketing strategy: invest in yourself.
Cook County property owners who routinely depend on the Senior Citizen Exemption for a property tax break will have to reapply or lose the exemption. Under a new a new state law, elderly homeowners must reapply every year, a change intended to prevent fraud involving tax breaks. Applications were mailed this week to senior citizens who had used the exemption in the past so they could re-apply. Anyone who does not reapply will lose the exemption. Seniors who do not receive an application in the mail, but believe they are entitled to the exemption, may download a form at www.cookcountyassessor.com or call 312-443-7550.
SNOWMAGEDDON REVIEWS
Now that our municipalities have declared victory over the Snow, it is a good time to look around! We wonder why there has been no outcry from the lack of accessibility to surface public transportation. The sidewalks in many neighborhoods – especially the intersections and corners are passable only by mountain goat and certainly not someone in a wheelchair. We witnessed one able-bodied individual climber over a mountain of snow on a North Avenue street corner only to fall into North Avenue. Thank goodness that the traffic was light enough so that he was not injured! Many a Merchant and homeowner who had managed to plow out from the snowfall, found themselves buried by the snow from the roadways, courtesy of our Municipal Governments. Corners are especially an issue. In a couple of cases, upon careful examination, the snow bank is located beyond the cornet and on the roadway.
Not withstanding the above, Illinois Department of Transportation and our Municipal Governments did as good a job as could be expected. Give some “props” to the Village and City employees that worked ‘round the clock!