Max Grinnell <kmgrinne@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998
Dear Chancellor Broski,
I would like to add my voice of protest to the injustice that is being done to the core of the legendary Maxwell Street area. As a public institution, the University of Illinois at Chicago has a social responsibility to the surrounding communities in the near West Side area.
I might add that in addition to supporting the growth of the intellect of the residents of this great city, there is a moral responsibility, rather a duty, to the small businesspeople and to the people who call this stretch of Halsted Street a commercial mecca. This proposed South Campus plan will effective tear the very livelihood of this small remnant of greatness asunder. We are not talking about multinational companies, ones with hundreds of "units" and buying "power". We are talking about modest operations, not ones with endless capital. This talk about "compensation" and "relocation expenses" is an affront to any of the tenets of social geography or any notions of community.
Shall we in fact remove what little urban fabric remains to remind us of the rich and diverse past that both countless immigrants from Eastern Europe and migrants from the American South found here?
I know that there must be a way to integrate many of the existing structures and create both an extension of the University of Illinois at Chicago and a revitalization of this immensely culturally important locale. As the leader of a major public institution, to ignore the hue and cry of the people who give UIC the very mandate to operate and exist, I urge you to commit to preserving the Maxwell Street area.
Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.
Sincerely,
Max Grinnell
Graduate Student
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Urban Planning
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