Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
North Michigan Avenue has lost a good deal of its sheen this year, thanks to the pandemic and the summer’s unrest with its looting and widespread store damage scaring away shoppers.
So we support the creation of a special taxing district that would raise funds to revive the Mag Mile. But we also agree with the aldermen who put the brakes on the measure this week, claiming that rushing to approval in just five months, when the process normally takes a year or so, is risky.
“The SSA [Special Service Area] process has really important way stations and checkpoints to protect the taxpayers who are being asked to pay this extra burden,” Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose ward includes the Mag Mile, told the City Council’s Committee on Economic and Capital Development this week.