By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy
I can’t help wondering whether Tinley Park is responsible for the seeming collapse of the Boston Blackie’s gourmet hamburger chain.
The owners of the gourmet hamburger chain and one of its managers were charged today with stealing $1.8 million from at least two Chicago banks in a check-kiting scheme. That’s when you deposit checks from one bank at another bank and help yourself to the money before the new bank finds out the checks are worthless. The new bank is left holding the bag for the missing funds.
Prosecutors also said today that one of the owners, Nick Giannis, 62, was arrested in Detroit while trying to cross the border into Canada. Not good.
Before any of this took place, however, Giannis and his son Chris, 38, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. At the time, they listed debts of $6.4 million against assets of about $17,000.
A couple of months before that, Boston Blackie’s lost its Tinley Park location when a lender foreclosed on the property in the 6700 block of South Street. The lender claimed in the suit filed in August that the chain owed him $862,000.
The property is now vacant. It used to be home to the Bremen Cash Store, which Boston Blackie’s bought in 2003. The chain originally planned to convert the building into apartments and a Boston Blackie’s restaurant. Then a Carson’s Ribs carryout was added to the plan.
For years, nothing happened. Then, citing safety concerns, the store was demolished in 2008 leaving a gaping crater. After several months, the crater was finally filled in early last year. Then nothing happened until the foreclosure, and nothing has happened since.
As I recall, back in 2003 Boston Blackie’s was a well-respected chain. Its burger was called by some the best in Chicago. Then the Tinley Park location was announced and Boston Blackie’s has been in a downward spiral ever since.
The chain may yet survive, though its immediate prospects are pretty dim. All Tinley Park has to show for its years-long dalliance with the company is a vacant lot. I guess it could have been a lot worse.
About Me
- Bob Bong
- I have more than 40 years in the news business and have successfully evolved into an electronic journalist. Comings & Goings and Southland Savvy track news about businesses in Chicago's Southland.
Flossmoor Station brew wins tasty honor
GuidePost: Bourbon McElroy, an imperial stout brewed by Bryan Shimkos of Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, was named 2010 Champion Real Ale of Chicagoland. The beer was honored through ballots cast by folks at the Chicago Beer Society's Day/Night of the Living Ales celebration at Goose Island's Wrigleyville brewpub last week, reports the Chicago Beer Examiner.
Bourbon McElroy is a bourbon-barrel aged version of Flossmoor Station's Dark Matter Imperial Stout. The barrel-aged version is estimated at 10.5% alcohol by volume. It's been described as combining notes of bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and other flavors.
Bourbon McElroy is a bourbon-barrel aged version of Flossmoor Station's Dark Matter Imperial Stout. The barrel-aged version is estimated at 10.5% alcohol by volume. It's been described as combining notes of bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and other flavors.
Gov's budget would hike taxes and strip local towns of money
By Illinois Statehouse News
Gov. Pat Quinn gave lawmakers two choices. Raise the income tax rate by one-third or make more than one billion dollars in cuts to schools.
In his annual budget address Wednesday, Quinn said the state’s finances are in dire straits and will only get worse unless lawmakers can find a way to pump billions of new dollars into state government.
Reaction to Quinn's budget was swift.
Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki said his village could lose $1.4 million in funding, blowing a big hole in village finances. Speaking to Newsradio 780 this afternoon, Zabrocki said he wished the governor had given local communities more warning. He also said cuts in services would have to make up the shortfall.
House Speaker Michael Madigan called it brave of Quinn to call for a tax increase.
"That doesn't mean it's going to happen," Madigan added in an interview with public television.
Quinn is targeting $1.3 billion in education cuts, and even more cuts in health care and social services. The governor says he will chop the budget, even though he says he thinks it is wrong to slash spending that much.
"The approach is both heartless and naive. Taking a chainsaw to our state budget for schools, and for healthcare, and for human services is just plain wrong," he said.
(Related commentary on potential local education cuts.)
His solution is a 1 percent income tax increase.
"That 1 percent will be enough to restore our education budget ... and allow us to get caught-up on some of the millions of dollars we owe to our public schools, our community colleges, and our four year universities."
But the governor acknowledged lawmakers are unlikely pass a tax increase.
Ouinn saising income taxes by one-third is necessary and told lawmakers they will have to face the consequences if school budgets are whacked.
"I've made some difficult and painful choices in the budget. And you must make tough choices as well. Either by approving a plan for new revenue for education. Or by passing a budget that will starve public education at every level, in every community in the state of Illinois."
Quinn’s income tax hike is one of his five "budget pillars." The Governor is also basing his $32.1 billion general revenue budget on $4 billion in borrowing, $2 billion in cuts, and another billion or so in new help from the federal government.
"There’s been a historic drop in state revenues, amounting to billions and billions of dollars. And we don’t expect our revenues to rebound in the coming fiscal year," said Quinn.
Illinois Statehouse News is a non-profit public affairs news organization.
Gov. Pat Quinn gave lawmakers two choices. Raise the income tax rate by one-third or make more than one billion dollars in cuts to schools.
In his annual budget address Wednesday, Quinn said the state’s finances are in dire straits and will only get worse unless lawmakers can find a way to pump billions of new dollars into state government.
Reaction to Quinn's budget was swift.
Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki said his village could lose $1.4 million in funding, blowing a big hole in village finances. Speaking to Newsradio 780 this afternoon, Zabrocki said he wished the governor had given local communities more warning. He also said cuts in services would have to make up the shortfall.
House Speaker Michael Madigan called it brave of Quinn to call for a tax increase.
"That doesn't mean it's going to happen," Madigan added in an interview with public television.
Quinn is targeting $1.3 billion in education cuts, and even more cuts in health care and social services. The governor says he will chop the budget, even though he says he thinks it is wrong to slash spending that much.
"The approach is both heartless and naive. Taking a chainsaw to our state budget for schools, and for healthcare, and for human services is just plain wrong," he said.
(Related commentary on potential local education cuts.)
His solution is a 1 percent income tax increase.
"That 1 percent will be enough to restore our education budget ... and allow us to get caught-up on some of the millions of dollars we owe to our public schools, our community colleges, and our four year universities."
But the governor acknowledged lawmakers are unlikely pass a tax increase.
Ouinn saising income taxes by one-third is necessary and told lawmakers they will have to face the consequences if school budgets are whacked.
"I've made some difficult and painful choices in the budget. And you must make tough choices as well. Either by approving a plan for new revenue for education. Or by passing a budget that will starve public education at every level, in every community in the state of Illinois."
Quinn’s income tax hike is one of his five "budget pillars." The Governor is also basing his $32.1 billion general revenue budget on $4 billion in borrowing, $2 billion in cuts, and another billion or so in new help from the federal government.
"There’s been a historic drop in state revenues, amounting to billions and billions of dollars. And we don’t expect our revenues to rebound in the coming fiscal year," said Quinn.
Illinois Statehouse News is a non-profit public affairs news organization.
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