Nickel and Diming Businesses

Not content with having the citizens pay for years worth of mismanagement, Shortshanks squeezes businesses. From a reader named Juvy Probation:

• I received a letter as a business owner asking me to contribute to this program. The city that wants me to contribute to this is the same city that forced me to appear at a city of Chicago municipal violation hearing today for a ticket I received in the mail for an "illegal" sign in front of my business. This is a sign I have had for 25 years, it is a a-frame or sandwich sign just like the thousands you see all over the city. When I contacted the city, they told me these signs are illegal and there are no permits for them. At my hearing I was fined $200 for the sign, and an additional $40 court costs.
  
  This is the same city that issued me a $150 ticket for parking in front of the loading dock door to my business to unload , and when I went to a hearing I lost that too. The same city that has made parking in front of my business a $1.25 an hour and costing me at least 20% of my customers. It is really irritating to see all the small business owners appearing for these hearings for violations like this and being fined hundreds of dollars. It is especially irritating for me as I work in the criminal justice field and am in courtrooms at least once a week, where the I see the majority of cases are dropped. I guess it is better to be a drug dealer in Chicago today, you don't need a permit or license, and if you're caught, your case is usually dropped with no cost to you.
  
  An interesting field trip would be to go to 400 W Superior and watch everyone get convicted and fined, and then go to any misdemeanor court and watch virtually everyone walk out with no consequences. More taxpayers need to realize how much we're getting screwed over while nothing happens to the bad guys. I would love to know how many 911 calls lead to arrests, then lead to cases being filed, then lead to convictions. I know the average juvenile case we get usually has close to at least 10 arrests before anything happens.

Well, when you are a business owner with a license that can be held over your head for not paying fines, you're going to pay on the first offense or else. Of course, there's always the option of moving your establishment out of the city.