Candidate Response: First Ward, Peter Tatera

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1. Is the corner of Miner and Lee, site of the Choo Choo and Masonic Temple buildings, an appropriate place to build a police station and an appropriate use of TIF funds?

No, I am against all TIFs.
Example: We build a mall & parking deck south of the tracks. Then we tear down the parking deck and turn the mall into a parking deck.
Now we build Metro Square with a parking deck and stores, half the stores are empty, and we are back to square one. This complex is another bad decision by the city.

2. Do you believe the Des Plaines Theater has the potential to act as a catalyst to attract more activity downtown?

No. The downtown area has been inactive for so long that people are not attracted to the area anymore.

3. How do you think downtown can be made a more appealing and productive place?

I never did consider this as downtown. It would be easier to convert Oakton to an area similar to Edison Park, where they have all the restaurants. Usually your Chamber of Commerce is in the downtown area.

4. Do you support the creation of a Heritage Commission and preservation ordinance to identify, evaluate, and protect Des Plaines’ historic resources?

Yes if privately funded, no if city funded.

5. Do you support pursuing listings on the National Register of Historic Places for Des Plaines historic properties and districts, making them eligible for Federal tax credit programs?

I have no idea about what historic properties and districts Des Plaines has.
This city has destroyed so much of the city with their TIFs.
Kinder Hardware is now a bank, one of the oldest buildings is now a Walgreens.
I would like to see a list of what you consider historical properties and districts before I make any decisions.