In 2022 Chitcongo paid millions to keep six grocery stores open for blacks

In 2022 black activists in Chitcongo were complaining to the city's faaaabulous communist mayor that their neighborhoods had become "food deserts."  So the city signed an agreement to PAY a grocery company $13.5 million to keep six stores in these areas open until 2035. 

But just this week the company announced it was closing all six stores (and a seventh not part of the deal) this weekend.

This is so classic that one is warned to be skeptical.  So I asked AI, "Did chicago pay $13.5 million tax dollars to a private company to keep six grocery stores open til 2035?"

AI replied (kind of):  Yes, in 2022 the people running the city government of Chicago approved a deal to pay a company called Yellow Banana $13.5 million to "renovate and reopen" six "Save A Lot" grocery stores located in what wokies said were "under-served food deserts" on the city's south and west sides.

The deal was touted as a big "redevelopment agreement"--cuz who doesn't love redevelopment, eh?  To kinda hide where the money was coming from, it was camouflaged as "Tax Increment Financing."  The agreement specified that the company would have to keep "full-service grocery operations" open at those six locations through 2035.

In development projects, the contractor is usually paid "incrementally," also called "progress payments."  But in this deal, instead of paying the $13.5 million incrementally, as each store was renovated, the whole amount was reportedly paid up front.  If true that should have been a huge clue that the probability that the deal was legit was pretty low.  Or maybe the city was just incompetent--cuz with such a small contract that maybe the city didn't use its first team, eh?

In any case, to the surprise of no one with a functioning brain, the six stores are indeed slated to close as early as this weekend.

(Checks phone calendar:) "Phone say dis beez 2026.  An' o'course we all know maff beez raaacis, but I'm pretty sure 2026 isn't quite 2035.  In fact, deal was made just 4 years ago, for 13 years of "full-service grocery operations."  Hmmm...

SO...duh poli's had demselves a meetin' t' esplain to activists why, after the city paid millions to keep sto's open til 2035, dey wuz closin' this weekend--just 4 years after someone made dis faaabulous "deal" to keep duh sto's open til 2035.

"This is our tax dollars that funded this," one attendee said during the meeting.  Another said "They need to return our money back to us."

Here's Asiaha Butler, founder and CEO of a local activist group: "We need on every corridor, on every corner, a healthy food option."

Ahhh, "need."  "We need [X], so yew mus' gibs us dat.  See, citizen?  "We need X, and you provide it."  Who knew problems could be solved so easily, eh?

Dear Asiaha, try teachin' yo' homeboys not to steal from grocery sto's, an' that'll hep.  Not fast enough, cuz even if your homies stopped stealin' tomorrow, no prudent company will open a store in your hood for the next 20 years.  They don't trust black "yutes," and I can't blame 'em. 

So whadya think gon' happen now, eh?  Duh communist mayor of Chitcongo (Brandon Johnson) ain't gon' put up wif dis.  See, a few folks gon' claim duh sto's is closin' cuz Brandon Johnson made a dumb deal.  An' Brandon Johnson don' like pipo thinkin' he dumb.  Nope nope nope!  So he gots a idea:

He gon' have duh city run deez six grocery sto's.  He hasn't announced that yet, but it's coming.   
 
Let's see here: the company will settle the breach of contract lawsuit by simply giving all six stores to the city (since no one will buy 'em now).  Then take $6 million from duh cops, an' another six from Parks, gives us $2 million per store on "renovation."  Den we gets duh unions to staff duh sto's, maybe $25 an hour.  Won't be payin' no property taxes cuz city-owned.  And while we'll collect state and county sales taxes (8% total), we'll just "forget" to send 'em in.  Cuz no one at either the state or county would dare to complain and possibly end up sinking the only six grocery stores in dis "food desert," eh?   It'll be a sure-fire success!

Source.

Source2. 

https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-residents-voice-concerns-7-save-lot-stores-face-possible-closure-including-1-englewood-amid-declining-snap-use/19553549/

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/7-chicago-grocery-stores-face-possible-closure-this-weekend/3964473/