Right now, many new businesses in Evanston receive tax breaks and other incentives from city government, but they are not required to meet any standards to receive the subsidy. As budget cuts threaten vital social services, businesses are receiving taxpayer dollars without a commitment to create good jobs or contribute anything back to the community. For example, Evanston aldermen:

• Spent $2.05 million for the Trader Joe’s parking lot on Chicago Ave.
• Gave Little Beans Cafe play space a $1.1 million tax break - resulting in “local taxing bodies...receiv[ing] roughly the same amount of property taxes from the operating business that they do now from the vacant building” for the first 10 years of the agreement.
• Provided $2 million in financial assistance to Valli Produce for store renovations.

Evanston residents and leaders in The People’s Lobby are working to develop a set of standards that businesses would be required to meet in order to receive taxpayer dollars. If enough of us tell City Council that we’re sick of corporate welfare, we can convince our legislators to hold businesses accountable by implementing the standards we develop.

Businesses should not get free handouts on the backs of taxpayers and working families. Let’s make sure City Council members know we’re counting on them to put their constituents before business interests.