We have all been told that bringing new business into Waukegan is a positive step towards a better city.  We've been told by the newspapers and politicians that new business means a completely new Waukegan.  What these people don't see is gentrification, when lower-income families are kicked out of their communities because richer businesses move in.  Expensive restaurants, rich coffee bars, luxury suites, condos, and shopping centers all contribute to the downfall of a working class city.

The politicians in Waukegan (and more accurately, the Democrats) are trying to lure more and more middle and upper class people into the city to bring in money.  When local businesses start to cater to the rich, poor and working class people can no longer afford to live in these places.  Property values rise for the apartments and houses around the area, and poor people can no longer afford to live there.  Small grocery stores are replaced with corporate chain stores.   Rich people begin moving into newly-constructed condos and suites, and the businesses which cater to them expand.  Landlords raise the price of rent until tenants can no longer afford to live there.  The city begins to crack down on things which are "undesirable" to the rich: homeless people, shabby storefronts, and illegal immigrants.  Homeless people are harrassed by the police and eventually leave the area, and illegal immigrant families are deported.  The houses and apartments left behind are turned into suites and yuppie (upper-middle class) neighborhoods.

Gentrification means the displacement of poor people.  Gentrification means the destruction of a working class Waukegan.  Recent events have only pointed towards gentrification in Waukegan:

Homeless people have been harrassed in downtown Waukegan by the police, and many are too afraid to walk downtown from fear of getting jay-walking tickets.  Social services (homeless shelters etc) have had pressure to move away from the downtown area.

Businesses in downtown Waukegan can only lease their building for a month, and have to give up their spaces for more "competitive businesses."

The old OMC headquarters, all 60 acres, have become Waukegan property.  Mayor Hyde said, "We're going to have 10,000 to 12,000 people living along the lake here... And somewhere, we're going to have to have a new shopping center ... I know people who have condos on the lakefront in Kenosha who are going to move here when we have condos."  The property was sold to Waukegan for only 130 dollars.

Luxury suites are being built on Washington and Sheridan, across from some of the poorest apartments in Waukegan.  The property was sold to Waukegan for a dollar.

The Genessee Theatre cost the city millions of dollars, but most people in Waukegan cannot afford to see shows there.  It was built to bring richer people and richer businesses into downtown Waukegan.

Under the disguise of "cleaning up Waukegan," the Waukegan city council has passed bills which will effectively remove all industry from the Waukegan downtown area. Besides taking away hundreds of jobs and a huge source of industry (one of the largest gypsum plants in America, for one), this will not solve any pollution problems. Studies have shown that the older factories have caused all of the pollution, and that the current ones have not contributed to this significantly. Mayor Hyde wants to push these industries out of the way to create a beautiful lakeside view for the rich.

Ordinances such as the 500$ towing fee and cracking down on immigration forces huge numbers of working class people out, while keeping others too scared to move in.

We have already seen the construction of these condos begin -- it is time that we tell Waukegan "We, the working class, will not be moved!"

Stop gentrification in Waukegan!