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Mayor Daley's beautification program has done wonders for downtown and tourism, but for Candy Basselen, who runs Springfield Supply, a steel fabrication company, Daley's love for wrought-iron fencing and fancy landscaping has cost her her business. That's because the city wouldn't grant her a new business license after she moved her business to a warehouse at 3348 S. Pulaski, the same warehouse owned by Daley's nephew, Robert Vanecko. And until the warehouse had sufficient amounts of wrought-iron fencing and pleasant landscaping, the city told her, the building wouldn't be up to code. And therefore she couldn't get a business license.
To Basselen, who was only a tenant in the warehouse, the logic of this requirement made little sense. Especially since the city was leasing the space to park dump trucks. "If the city knew there were code violations, why was the city operating out of the building,'' Basselen told the Sun-Times. "The city was utilizing a building they themselves said wasn't up to code.'' And even though the City of Chicago has already paid nearly $500,000 in rent to DV Urban Reality, the real estate investment firm operated by Vanecko and Daley fundraiser Allison Davis, there's still no landscaping or wrought-iron fencing. "As it relates to the building violation, it is very simple,'' Jeff Josephs, one of Vanecko's partners in the warehouse deal, told the Sun-Times in an email. "The city zoning department has advised us that we need to add a wrought-iron fence to the front of the building and add some shrubs, plus blacktop a small portion of rock in the back. Less than $75,000 of work. No different than what they are requiring numerous owners who own city industrial property to complete.''
Although Josephs says they've hired a firm to correct the matter, Basselen is effectively out of business. That's because without a business license she hasn't been able to bid on city work. "I could not bid work in September because I didn't have a business license,'' Basselen she told the paper. Not to worry, though, because Vaneko's firm has refunded Basselen her $35,000 security deposit. "From September to April, I couldn't bid any work. Ninety percent of the work I do is for the city of Chicago," Basselen told the paper.
Photo by Paul R. Alexander
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Gee, a woman who was only in this business because she could then be a "minority" contractor and qualify under the city's absurd politically correct rules... runs headlong into other absurd city rules designed to benefit someone even more connected and of the even more right genetic makeup, and goes out of business as a result.
I have to say, I find her less of a victim than someone hoisted by her own petard.
Nice "analysis". But it still doesn't address the question of whether or not wrought iron fencing and landscaping should be factors in the decision to grant business licenses.
Gee, a woman who was only in this business because she could then be a "minority" contractor and qualify under the city's absurd politically correct rules
It doesn't mention anywhere in the article that she's a "minority" as far as I can see.
Women considered a minority.
Women are considered a minority.
Ugh, I hate this commenting system!
Why carefully choose "minority" instead of "woman" especially when it's clearly called a "Women's Business Enterprise" and not a "Minority Business Enterprise"? In fact there's also a "MBE" classification for "Minorities". Never mind the wild speculation about the business owner's motives and past history.
I was not commenting on the first poster's use of the word "minority" over "woman". I'm not sure where Mike G just pulled that out, because the story has nothing to do with anything he discussed. I was just commenting on your statement, but I guess you were reading into it more than I.
I'm used to the term "DBE" or "Disadvantaged Business Enterprise", a certified business owned by a minority or woman.
I guess we're in agreement then, I'm just noticing the OP's deliberate use of "Minority" (not said in the article) instead of "Women" which was actually used in the article. Seemed like a cheap attempt at injecting race into the issue. Blame teh mynoritees...
Apparently there's only one "right genetic makeup" too. Oh noes!
Dear Everyone Who Read a Million Things Into My Comment Except What The Point Of It Was,
I said "minority" because 1) that's the common term, "minority contractor," and 2) because of course women are NOT a minority, hence the quotes. The fact that YOU know the official buzzwords and acronyms does not mean everyone else does.
The "right genetic makeup" was a sardonic way of saying "related to Mayor Daley" or "connected Irish machine hack." My point is, sure, a woman or "other minority" may get the scraps in a program like this but the real goods will always flow to the Irish good old boys at the top-- hence the fact that this woman gets screwed over for something that's the fault of Mayor Daley's nephew.
I find it an ironic fate since she chose to play by the rules of a bad system and lend it legitimacy by her participation. But the real villains always skate away untouched and wealthier with your tax money than before.
Dear Everyone Who Read a Million Things Into My Comment Except What The Point Of It Was,
I said "minority" because 1) that's the common term, "minority contractor," and 2) because of course women are NOT a minority, hence the quotes. The fact that YOU know the official buzzwords and acronyms does not mean everyone else does.
The "right genetic makeup" was a sardonic way of saying "related to Mayor Daley" or "connected Irish machine hack." My point is, sure, a woman or "other minority" may get the scraps in a program like this but the real goods will always flow to the Irish good old boys at the top-- hence the fact that this woman gets screwed over for something that's the fault of Mayor Daley's nephew.
I find it an ironic fate since she chose to play by the rules of a bad system and lend it legitimacy by her participation. But the real villains always skate away untouched and wealthier with your tax money than before.