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As Loop Traffic Begins To Rebound, Some Downtown Businesses Remain Boarded Up

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Unwelcoming and unfriendly; that's the message Chicago business leaders are trying to avoid after finally being allowed to re-open. So why do some storefronts still look closed off, and can the city force them to clean up?

CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory looks digs into questions surrounding downtown's unsightly decor.

From the start of the stay-at-home order in Illinois, the Loop's hustle never waned, though its bustle was wiped out.

"Everything shut down pretty quick. We were operating at about 20% capacity," said Michael Edwards, president and CEO of the Chicago Loop Alliance.

Edwards' job is to keep the vibe on State Street friendly.

"We were encouraging people not to board up their buildings, because it was already pretty quiet, and we didn't want it to look more quiet," he said.

Then, looters ransacked many downtown businesses in late May and early June, amid widespread civil unrest.

"We had about 40 businesses that were looted; you know, broken into, and merchandise stolen," Edwards said.

A month later, the destruction is still hard to miss. Some businesses remain wrapped in wood until they can make costly repairs on the outside and re-stock the inside. Others have spent 30 days boarded up for insurance purposes.

"It just looks closed, it looks unfriendly. People feel creepy and they don't come," Edwards said.

People who live and work downtown have noticed.

"If they have boards their up because they still have damage, I can understand if it's going to take them longer. Um, I mean, would it be nice to have them down? Yeah, but I don't really have a say in that," said Rocio Herrera, who works in the Loop.

Neither does Edwards. He can't force storefronts to look more alive, but he can encourage the use of boards as a canvas for positive messages.

"A mural? It's like beauty in the midst of chaos," said Andre Anthony, who works in the Loop.

Board Mural
Some downtown businesses have used boarded-up windows as canvases for murals while they continue to make repairs caused by looting in late May and early June. (Credit: CBS)

More beauty is on the way, or at least a sense of normalcy.

CBS 2 spotted a crew fixing a busted Walgreens window on State and Randolph.

On State and Washington, a worker was taking down the Disney Store's boards, which had been up since March.

A campaign to welcome everyone back begins this week. The Loop's 80% dip in traffic is turning a corner.

CBS 2 has learned the city cannot cite store owners for keeping boards up. It's not written into the code for the Chicago Department of Buildings or the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

 

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