Perhaps the wrong choice of words about Save-A-Lot customers (WAS: ‘A whiff of bigotry from Uplands Residential Association’)
NOTE and APOLOGY: I’m leaving the post up, but I’m going to let Kara Harris off the hook here. I talked to her tonight. She explained she is a customer of the Save-A-Lot store, which would make her one of the “unwelcome” clientele she complained out. Her concerns aren’t about the vast majority of the customers. But sh is concerned about safety in the parking lot at night. I pointed out that the store isn’t responsible for the people who hang around at or near closing time. I’m convinced she isn’t an elitist or a snob. Nor is she a bigot, which I unfairly suggested with the headline. My apologies.
Save-A-Lot Foods in Campustown is closing.
This is bad news for the people who live nearby. It will make it very hard for nearby rewsidents without transportation to buy food for their families. Well, most of them anyway:
Neighborhood associations around Campustown were pleased when Save-A-Lot came to the shopping center, but they may be just as pleased the store is closing, said Kara Harris, president of the Uplands Residential Association.
“Unfortunately, the clientele that often came to that store was unwelcome. I imagine the association will be thrilled,” she said.
Still, Harris noted, “We do hate to lose a nearby grocer. We are lucky there is another locally owned grocery nearby that is owned by a couple from the neighborhood,” she said, referring to the Haddad’s grocery at 2407 W. Rohmann Ave., owned by Mark and Erika Wrhel.
I think it’s safe to assume that people who can afford a home in the Uplands are not the target clientele of Save-A-Lot, a store that sells a lot of cheap food. Many of the customers walk to the store from nearby homes, and many of these homes are far less expensive than the homes in the Uplands. Save-A-Lot is NOT a store people go to because of the sparkling clean floors or the wide selection of merchandise. It’s a store of necessity, not choice.
A lot of the customers are on food stamps. A lot of them are black. A lot of them are students. One assumes that the fine folks of the Uplands don’t want such undesirable people moving into their neighborhood any more than their association’s leader wants to see walking around Campustown.
Harris’s comments reek of elitism and snobbery.
And considering that Campustown isn’t even INSIDE the Uplands, why the Journal Star decided to seek out a spokesperson from the Uplands is beyond me. I guess some peoples’ opinions matter more than others.
I share some of C.J.’s concerns about the store. But NOTHING about how the store operated or the services they offered made the place a magnet for “unwelcome” people.
I think the Uplands Residential Association and the Journal Star owe an apology to the Save-A-Lot company and the people who shop there.
UPDATED: I’ve sent Kara Harris a Facebook message asking her if she wanted to explain her remarks.
UPDATE 2: Here is her response:
First off, as a “friend” on facebook and having talked to you different times in person before, I find it hard to believe that you would blast me on your blog before contacting me to see exactly what I meant.
I meant exactly what I said. Nothing more. Nothing less. The clientele was unwelcoming. A lot of people have told me that they do not like going there during the day and won’t go there at night because they feel unsafe. I personally wouldn’t go there after dark. It has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with feeling unsafe. Which, is brought on by the clientele loitering around the place.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Billy, If you spoke with Kara, you’ll find she meant the criminal presence was what was “unwelcome” — a lot of problems with crime, etc., that weren’t really being dealt with. Her phrasing was maybe unfortunate, but I can see how a neighborhood association president might catch a lot of heat for saying “we have a big problem with crime” flat out. So of course she catches heat for a different problem, people making assumptions about what she meant by “unwelcome.”
Not that that element isn’t in Peoria … but Kara isn’t part of it.
““Unfortunately, the clientele that often came to that store was unwelcome.”
Exactly what crime is this store responsible for causing by its mere existence? And exactly how is this store causing crime? Sorry, I’m not letting her off the hook on this.
The comment reeks of bigotry.
Who said the store was *causing* crime? I don’t think Kara or Eyebrows said anything of the sort.
Kara did not say that people on food stamps were unwelcome.
Kara did not say that black people were unwelcome.
Kara did not say that students were unwelcome.
Those are all assumptions made by you and crackpot commenters on the Journal Star’s website.
And you have a lot of gall extending your false assumptions about Kara to everyone who lives in the Uplands neighborhood. We happen to value the diversity of our residents, which includes students and African Americans, by the way.
Hey, here’s an idea you may not have considered: Why don’t you pick up the phone and call Kara and ask her what she meant instead of making wild, unsubstantiated assumptions about her?
No Kara said the clientele of Save-A-Lot were uinwelcome.
Most of the clientele is black.
A large number of the clientele use Link cards.
Those who aren’t black or on Link cards are often Bradley students.
I know this because. unlike you and Kara, apparently, I actually do business there.
And Kara is YOUR groups spokesperson. And she was speaking in her capacity as leader of the Uplands group when she was interviewed.
What she said was worthy of criticism and if you weren’t friends with her, you would admit it.
Way to stick to your assumptions, Billy. Don’t let the facts get in the way.
As for my friendship with Kara — you’re probably right that I would be quicker to jump to conclusions if I didn’t know her, being a flawed human being. The difference is, if someone called me on it, I’d admit my mistake.
So why don’t you contact her and ask her about her comment and ask her to address your criticisms?
I heard it was a furniture store going in. An Ashley Furniture Store.
I’d rather see a food store of some kind. But the free market is the free market.
Most students I know don’t shop there. Black, white, pink or green. I just want a store that is clean which has a good selection of food.
Agreed. But this isn’t a post about whether the store smelled clean or had a wide selection. It’s about a neighborhood association that is gleeful a store is closing because they find the people who shop there “unwelcome.”
I’ve shopped at Campustown regularly for the last 6 years. Save-A-Lot was a crummy place with some good deals on some products. The employees were nice. But there were often crude and dirty people in the parking lot, roaming the sidewalk, asking for change, cigarettes, pulling scams for cash and otherwise making customers feel uncomfortable. Whether that has anything to do with the grocery store or more to do with the condition of Peoria is open for discussion.
Comments painting Upland’s residents as snooty are off-base and mostly hilarious. (I am not an Uplands resident but I live nearby.) Uplands residents are mostly working middle class, with some lower-middle class and some upper-middle class mixed in. These are not exactly McMansions full of CAT execs.
I switched over my grocery store allegiance to Haddads several months ago, when I discovered how much cleaner the building was and more appetizing and fresh the food was.
BTW Billy, as per usual you just got owned by CJ.
As far as “X attracts the wrong element” type of remarks: I laughed pretty hard as I remember that the owner of a trailer park once said that when a park authority wanted to extend the East Peoria bike path through his property.
But yes, the quote from the PJ Star story DID say ““Unfortunately, the clientele that often came to that store was unwelcome” and I am chuckling as many of those posting here are looking for creative way to spin that. Billy’s conclusion is the logical inference.
I’m with Billy on this. What else could Ms. Harris have meant? CJ says that no one said blacks weren’t welcome, or students, or people on welfare. That’s true but one just has to look at the Uplands. This Association has done everything short of putting up gates to keep people out. No Left Turn signs, Stop signs every block, no parking without a permit etc etc all under the guise that they want a better quality of life in their area. OK, I can live with that. They lobbied for that stuff and the City Council set them up with those perks. Then Ms. Harris comes out and is thrilled that a low end grocery store, used by the very people CJ and her say they welcome is closing, then why are they thrilled? Is it because another business tanked? Doubtful. Fact is, like the Moss-Bradley area, if you don’t like the element of students and poor, then don’t live next door. Confirmed what I have always believed. Anal retentive is alive and well.
One doesn’t have to look very far to see between the lines here.
Oh, this has “confirmed” your prejudice against the Uplands? What a surprise.
I guess that means you don’t want anyone in your neighborhood either, since you and your neighbors asked to have a stop sign put up at Antoinette and Folkers. Oh, and you wanted it done before Manual High School students returned to school according to the city council minutes! I guess that means you don’t want those black students coming down your street huh? One doesn’t have to look very far to see between the lines here. /sarcasm
1) Bradley students are in general NOT shopping at Save-A-Lot. Bradley University is quite aware of this and is disappointed that Campustown has a low end store. Bradley’s student base does not come from the demographic that Save-A-Lot caters to. There is talk of Bradley putting a small convenience store on campus.
2) Contrary to Billy’s assertion, I don’t think a lot of West Bluff residents, rich or poor, white or black, are shopping at Save-A-Lot. Yeah there are a few walkers (some even in the Uplands) but not enough to keep the store afloat.
3) Billy is right on in that Save-A-Lot does not cater the tastes of most Uplands residents. I will go further and say that it doesn’t cater to the tastes of most West Bluff residents, black folks included. Save-A-Lot caters to lower class customers and the West Bluff is solidly middle class.
4) You will never… NEVER get an area to improve if you can’t aspire to have better. Keeping a low income grocery store in the West Bluff is not going to make it attractive, is not going to improve home values, is not going to make it walkable, and won’t improve the tax base. Quite the opposite.
Mahkno: It’s not the goal of free enterprise to enhance property values. And the argument about property values high has been made many times in the past, to justify discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. And those who used the argument in the past also claimed it had NOTHING to do with bigotry.
As someone who shops at the Save-A-Lot, I have to tell you people that your fears about crime and “unwelcome” people is a bunch of hooey.
It’s about not wanting to see or hear the underclass.
I tend to agree with Billy on this one, but I’m not sure bigotry is the right word. I think dislike, fear, mistrust of the poor and underclass is the emotion that’s being expressed here.
In part, bigotry is in play here. People’s worst conceptions of how “those people” act are being expressed. To a degree, some of those conceptions may be based on observed behavior rather than exaggerated myths.
Save a Lot had low prices and poor quality food, to my mind. Fortunately, I have the ability to shop elsewhere. If poor, working poor and underclass residents were attracted to the store, they won’t disappear because the store is closed. They will have to find somewhere else to shop that fits their budget.
But the real concern is the tendency to brush problems under a rug and move real problems from one neighborhood to another. I’d hope that someday we can address problems of poverty, neglect and discrimination rather than just ignoring it and celebrating the fact that some of the least fortunate among us are less visible.
She made too broad a statement, but other than that I don’t see a problem with it. I read her statement as going to the behavior of the clientele, not the race or even the income. So she’s guilty of what, scumbag bigotry? Count me in.
Hate to bust your bubble there, Billy, but she has good reason to feel concerned. Take a look at the crime map for the area. Is it possible the neighborhood is getting a little fed up?
http://tinypic.com/r/1zmfg8x/6
I realize the screenshot is of low quality. Here is the link to pull up the map yourself:
http://peoria.il.crimeviewcommunity.com/
I actually do biz there, lived in the area for 19 years. That dump called campustown has always attracted the unwelcome. From day one.
First, they had to get rid of the pay phones to rid the center of drug dealers who monopolized the phones for most of the day and night.
Then they had a stint where security guards roamed the area during business hours to keep the unwelcome from hassling patrons, patrons who were black, white, poor and with LINK cards.
I was jumped by two black guys after leaving Sav-a-lot who said to “give it up”. When I said I didn’t have anything they said “we saw you go in and out the store”. When I told them I forgot my wallet, I was beaten.
Another time I was followed by a menacing white guy harassing me for money. He followed me all the way to my car over at then Gorman’s until I told him to fuck off in menacing manner.
Within the last few years an elderly woman was beaten unconscious in the entrance foyer of Sav-a-lot while she was defending herself for her purse being snatched.
None of this is welcome and none of those pus bags were there shopping, either with cash or a Link card, whether black, white or poor. Those unwelcome pus bags were there to prey on anyone vulnerable, no matter if their prey was black, white, poor or using a LINK card.
But campustown is the draw. It’s not Sav-a-lot. Whatever moves in, the unwelcome will still come.
“Whatever moves in, the unwelcome will still come.”
I don’t think this is automatically true. The ‘unwelcomed’ don’t like standing out too much. They want to blend in. You create an area that caters to the lower end of the economic spectrum, you will draw people good and bad from that group of people. It falls under what one might call an ‘attractive nuisance’. Obviously the store doesn’t cause crime per se but it does draw folks who blend much better and prey upon their target demographic.
Save-A-Lot isn’t the sole part of the problem with Campustown. The liquor store is a huge problem, with a reputation of selling to anyone. CVS is unfortunate too for taking on liquor sales.
Some things must go over your head, or, in one ear and out the other, for christ’s sake. The problems were there when it was a Thompson’s and a Sullivan’s too. I’ve had problems walking out of those stores as well as Blockbuster (the guy that followed me to my car).
Incidentally, I’ve never had a problem walking out of the campustown liquor store. It is campustown itself that is the primary draw. Put an OfficeMax or Whole Foods there and the shopping center will still have the same problems. They need to bring back the security detail that roved the center.
The problems have gotten worse as the ‘image’ of the shopping area has declined. Were there more ‘unwanted persons’ when it was a Thompson’s? Certainly. Are there more now, that it is a Save-A-Lot? Absolutely. Does that decline hurt not only Save-A-Lot but the surrounding area? YES.
Can it be improved? Yes it can.
CJ: All are welcome in my neighborhood. In fact, you can do your shopping at Shop Rite on Lincoln now that Save A Lot is closing.
I too may need to rethink my ideas and thoughts on this subject. I never said ALL Uplanders were snobs or whatever.
This post demonstrates a large part of the problem. People that remain to fight crime, drug dealing and prostitution in their neighborhoods are branded racists and bigots. People like you Billy Dennis bully them into silence and next thing you know we have exactly what exists today – a mass exodus out of the city center by people who don’t want to or need to deal with the bull shit. If I were Kara I would tell you to take your apology and put it where the sun don’t shine. Enjoy your neighborhood, Billy, but next time you complain about the lack of city services due to the eroding tax base take a peak in the mirror.
Thanks for the input.
Billy –
Apology accepted. The West Bluff is a great place to live!
I love how people jump to conclusions as to what another is thinking. Dont go shopping at the Shp Rite its a pit hole. I hear they have viagra for sale tho.
Only in Peoria, can an area/neighborhood surrounded by and immersed with endemic poverty with all the problems it brings, far above the state and national averages, be accused of being racists, snobs, bigots, classists, pick your adjective, for not wanting or willing to accept more of it.
The national poverty rate is somewhere between 12% and 14%, probably a little higher as the data for 2009 rolls in. Locally Peoria has areas where the poverty rate is 50% to 90+%.
Let’s face it some folks want the poor underclass to stay where they are, south of forest hill. God forbid the local middle class residents complain about that or aspire to improve the area to make it more reflective of what the rest of America is really like.
Mahkno says — “Locally Peoria has areas where the poverty rate is 50% to 90+%.”
What a bunch of crap. Can you provide some proof of these claims?
Go look up the demographics for the schools published by the state in their school report cards. It will give you an indicator of the economic make up of an area. That’s a start.
I have also seen marketing demographic data in the past to verify the correlation. The exact numbers tho really are not that important to the point I am making.
Don’t confuse poverty with unemployment.
2009’s poverty guideline is around $22,050 for a family of four, per US Dept of HHS. Which is around $11 to $12 an hour working.