Business & Tech
Council Says No to Another Loan Store on Jefferson Street
A vacant fast-food restaurant was rejected as a new location for a TitleMax of Illinois store.
A consumer loan business that wanted to move into a vacant fast-food restaurant was rejected by the Joliet City Council Monday, despite having the recommendation of city staff.
TitleMax of Illinois, a short-term loan provider, requested the council OK a special use permit that would allow it to take over a 1,700-square-foot building at 1606 W. Jefferson St. that was last home to El Famous Burrito until 2012.
The company planned to spend $90,000 converting the building for office use and would have hired two manager and two customer service representatives.
The proposal was recommended by city staff not because it was an ideal business but because the location is a tough one to find a user for, City Manager Tom Thanas said.
With a small lot and just 16 non-handicapped parking spaces, it's failed as a restaurant location several times over. Previous to being El Famous Burrito, it had been a Sharks Chicken & Fish, a Taco Bell and another Mexican restaurant.
"This building has had a proven track record of failure as restaurants. It just hasn't been able to stick," Thanas said.
"It's an eyesore, not generating any sales tax. ... The proposed use, while I know it's not the favored use of the staff (and) certainly a use that's been criticized by a lot of neighborhood organizations and individuals, we understand that it's a use that's authorized by state law."
Developer/building owner Jerry Cairo also spoke on the company's behalf, saying that the business fits a need for people who find themselves in financial trouble and don't have many options when it comes to paying for short-term emergencies.
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don't have (credit cards), and they need their car for work, they need to buy medicine for their children, there are a whole host of reasons," Cairo said. "We've all experienced them. All of a sudden you have an unexpected expense."
But those arguments did not sway Mac Lewis, president of nonprofit Unity Community Development Corp., who appeared on behalf of 11 neighborhood organizations that opposed TitleMax moving into the location.
The company, and others like them, take advantage of low-income, disadvantaged people by charging exorbitant interest rates that only serve to push them further into debt, Lewis said.
"It's no surprise these enterprises target low-income people, and they generally claim they fill a need such people have for easy and quick credit that is not offered by more conventional lenders," he said. "That assertion may well be true, and there are people who certainly patronize these stores, but the fact is their 'help' comes at a high cost ... from people who cannot afford it."
The council vote rejecting the permit was unanimous.
"Sometimes projects just aren't the right project," District 1 Councilman Larry Hug said. "I'd certainly like to see this building revitalized. ... But I just don't think this is the right project for our community."
At-Large Councilman Jim McFarland said: "We need to look at bringing in quality businesses, not quantity."
The company planned to spend $90,000 converting the building for office use and would have hired two manager and two customer service representatives.
The proposal was recommended by city staff not because it was an ideal business but because the location is a tough one to find a user for, City Manager Tom Thanas said.
With a small lot and just 16 non-handicapped parking spaces, it's failed as a restaurant location several times over. Previous to being El Famous Burrito, it had been a Sharks Chicken & Fish, a Taco Bell and another Mexican restaurant.
"This building has had a proven track record of failure as restaurants. It just hasn't been able to stick," Thanas said.
"It's an eyesore, not generating any sales tax. ... The proposed use, while I know it's not the favored use of the staff (and) certainly a use that's been criticized by a lot of neighborhood organizations and individuals, we understand that it's a use that's authorized by state law."
Developer/building owner Jerry Cairo also spoke on the company's behalf, saying that the business fits a need for people who find themselves in financial trouble and don't have many options when it comes to paying for short-term emergencies.
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don't have (credit cards), and they need their car for work, they need to buy medicine for their children, there are a whole host of reasons," Cairo said. "We've all experienced them. All of a sudden you have an unexpected expense."
But those arguments did not sway Mac Lewis, president of nonprofit Unity Community Development Corp., who appeared on behalf of 11 neighborhood organizations that opposed TitleMax moving into the location.
The company, and others like them, take advantage of low-income, disadvantaged people by charging exorbitant interest rates that only serve to push them further into debt, Lewis said.
"It's no surprise these enterprises target low-income people, and they generally claim they fill a need such people have for easy and quick credit that is not offered by more conventional lenders," he said. "That assertion may well be true, and there are people who certainly patronize these stores, but the fact is their 'help' comes at a high cost ... from people who cannot afford it."
The council vote rejecting the permit was unanimous.
"Sometimes projects just aren't the right project," District 1 Councilman Larry Hug said. "I'd certainly like to see this building revitalized. ... But I just don't think this is the right project for our community."
At-Large Councilman Jim McFarland said: "We need to look at bringing in quality businesses, not quantity."
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