The members of North Aurora Together, and thousands of North Aurorans with them, faced a millionaire developer and a billionaire retailer and, through our sweat and reason, we won. What is more “free market” than that? Kane County Chronicle columnist Eric Schelkopf’s seems against anybody that would dare keep an eye on their elected officials and refuse to be a subject, rather than a citizen.
We believe in America and the American system of free enterprise and property rights. We believe in North Aurora as a community, as a hometown, and as an idea. We believe that in order for our community to thrive, we need diversity in tax revenue, diversity in professions, and diversity in people. We believe that creating a welcoming atmosphere for families needs to be balanced with creating a welcoming atmosphere for business.
We also believe in the American system of democracy. That system says that citizens are the government, and those we elect we elect not only to lead us, but to express our will. They serve us, not vice versa. A parent tells their children what is best for them, to stop whining and eat their vegetables because they said so. Government is not our parents. The village trustees are elected to serve.
Columnist Eric Schelkopf has been hysterical in his belief that North Aurora is not the residents, but rather the government. He obviously does not believe that North Aurorans are smart enough to govern themselves, but rather should hand over their sovereignty to their elected officials and their pals in the business community—the nanny government described above. Masquerading as a journalist, Mr. Schelkopf has mocked our efforts to protect our community character and become civically engaged. At every turn he has accused us of selfishness, inconsistency, hypocrisy, fear-mongering, and foolishness. It is Mr. Schelkopf’s belief that government is not meant to serve the people, but rather to tell us what to do and what to believe.
“You need a 24-Hour, 200,000+ square foot Supercenter in the middle of a family neighborhood,” they tell us, and we’re supposed to nod and accept it. Exercising our constitutional right to assemble, to petition the government, and to express our opinion is mocked and belittled by Mr. Schelkopf and, shockingly, Village President John Hansen as well as Trustee Linda Mitchell, who have tut-tutted the recent, righteous decision by the board to reject an annexation agreement that would have allowed Wal-Mart to build an obtrusive Supercenter in the middle of a residential community near two schools.
“What happened to free enterprise?” Mr. Schelkopf asked us in a series of increasingly hostile e-mails. It’s a good question. What happened to free enterprise, when the largest retailer on planet Earth comes to North Aurora residents and demands a series of economic incentives, outlined in an economic incentive agreement, amounting to welfare? Where was Schelkopf’s strident editorial defending the people? Where is Schelkopf’s investigative unbiased reporting?
His snide commentary that those of us who live on the west side of town made a critical mistake in moving near a “vacant lot,” is laughable besides being intellectually dishonest. You can move next to a fully operational, friendly neighborhood strip mall and it can be sold to a big box retailer, up-zoned, granted Special Use permits, and voila, you have a “mega retailer” right next door. And should the neighbors and community raise a stink, they can count on Eric Schelkopf and the Kane County Chronicle, to bash them for NIMBYism, or closet socialism, or whatever panicky epithet they may come up with. I guess he would tell those people not to be so foolish to move somewhere where businesses may want to locate nearby. One wonders how much glee Mr. Schelkopf would have had in mocking the victims of the Bhopal chemical spill disaster for moving near a Union Carbide facility.
Communities have every right to restrict the type, size, and character of businesses moving into their town. They do it all the time. Whether it be limiting adult services, alcohol or firearms sales, drive-thrus, or auto-mechanics; they limit multi-unit and single-unit dwellings, and even, in some cases, the ages of potential homeowners. And what are “communities”—towns, villages, cities—if not the residents and property owners?
North Aurora’s Board of Trustees, with notable exceptions, was brave and righteous in expressing the will of the people and defending North Aurora’s character and values. Perhaps one day, Mr. Schelkopf’s ideal of a society of subservient, obedient yokels on their knees pleading for some scraps of tax revenue will come true; until then, North Aurora Together will continue to fight to express the will of the people.
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