Electronic billboards are full tilt visual pollution. And over the past 15 years, the stretch of Forest Park along the Ike expressway has been inundated with these monster ad boards.
Bad enough when they intrude on the intended audience of drivers tooling along the highway. But much worse when a billboard’s flashing messages intrude into a residential neighborhood.
That’s the frustration of Forest Park homeowners who live near Desplaines Avenue and the highway as the CTA moves ahead with a revenue generating — for them — digital billboard on the land it owns at the Blue Line terminus.
This invader will stand 120 feet high and 60 feet wide. All LED lit. And 24 hours a day. The CTA needed to apply to Forest Park for a conditional-use permit as the land is zoned for industrial use. The village’s planning and zoning commission heard the CTA’s appeal in mid-April. A second meeting will be held by the commission on May 20.
Ultimately the commission’s recommendation will go to the village council for its decision. The CTA says it is still in discussions with village staff. Unclear to us what legal leeway the village may have to actually block this billboard. And what sort of compromise would bring some balm to neighbors who will have this 12-story ad looming over their homes forever?
We’re a bit surprised that one impacted neighbor seemed specifically insulted that Forest Park would gain no share of revenue from the billboard. “If there was revenue coming back to the town, that’s a different value proposition,” he told the Review.
A magnanimous take. But certainly something for the village to bargain over with the CTA. What other tools does the village have to block this billboard?
Turns out it is IDOT, which actually has the power to limit the proliferation of billboards along the state’s highways. Lobbying that state agency is worth pursuing.
It should not be assumed that Forest Parkers, who already live with the perpetual buzz of the Ike and the auto emissions that infiltrate their neighborhood, should simply absorb this added intrusion into their lives.
Aldi’s arrival
In a time when retail is extremely hard to attract, it is great news that the former Bed Bath & Beyond on Harlem Avenue will soon become an Aldi grocery store. That is a strong use for this expansive site. Property taxes will flow. Jobs will be created. And a legitimately distinctive grocery niche — discounted prices with good quality and modern amenities — will offer a welcome shopping option for our area.
A potential negative within this success is the current plan by Gov. JB Pritzker to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries. We get the impulse to eliminate what is a regressive tax but losing those pennies on each dollar spent on groceries in the village will be a real loss for the coming Aldi’s but also the Walmart and Living Fresh Market.
Towns are still pushing to block this change, but it seems likely to happen.
