Amusing article about McHenry Walmart

I read with amusement the article earlier this week about Walmart's move from McHenry to Johnsburg.

Walmart will walk away from its large McHenry building in favor of its even larger, new Supercenter (182,000 sq. ft.) in Johnsburg. Johnsburg Trustee John Heumann wasn't quite right when he said it is really hard to turn down the largest retailer in the world. First, you have to want to turn them down. That probably didn't happen in Johnsburg.

Other towns (and residents) have said "No" to Walmart. It's hard to do, and it's expensive. You first have the legal fees to fight them off, and then you have to deal with the lost sales tax, because they'll end up nearby, anyway, and the losing City Fathers will then stew about all the dollars getting sucked up by a nearby town.

The City of McHenry needs to figure out how to get Walmart to communicate with it. It might need to put someone on a plane for Arkansas. Or you get somebody important to pave the way. Is there anybody important (enough) in McHenry? Probably not.

Huemann's "Walmart came to us" comment leaves a lot to be desired. Walmart calls the shots. You either go along or get left in the dust.

Was there anything McHenry could have done to keep Walmart (and its sales tax dollars) in McHenry? Years ago it might have told Walmart, "When you go, take the building with you." That is, you are going to knock it down, put in grass, and not leave us stuck with an empty building that is going to fall down." It's much too late for that now.

Johnsburg rolled the dice and came up with a winner. It won't be all roses; crime is likely to increase; traffic will increase; law enforcement expenses will increase. But there will a lot of income to the Village to pay for it.