A number of Chicago’s enterprise zones were granted a slight reprieve by the City Council’s finance committee earlier today. These special districts, which offer a range of tax exemptions and credits, are generally regarded as a good thing — though some believe that they are underutilized in Chicago.
Back in 1992, ten years after they were first ratified, one business incubator put the benefits of the enterprise zones to the test. NBC Nightly News reported:
There is life after death. When the old Sunbeam plant on Chicago's tough West Side closed its doors 10 years ago, a rotting industrial carcass was left behind. Now the old factory is breathing again with the help of an economic respirator known as an enterprise zone. Forty-eight companies were lured to the old factory by low rents and ample space.
Those companies included sporting goods manufacturer American-McDavid, which relocated from the suburbs to the Cicero location, and Phoenix Lighting Products, a company that employed 47 people.
“We're developing ourselves,” said Phoenix president Michael Gies, “we're in a community which is trying to develop itself, and that's what's important.”
-Ian Fullerton