Your column saying the people looking to save these buildings were “obstructionists” instead of preservationists is just above a letter signed by the president of Landmarks Illinois and the executive director of the Midwest Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation calling for a halt to the ongoing demolition. [The Milstein Memorial Parking Lot, Ken Trainor, March 4] I guess these people and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (who earlier spoke in favor of retaining these buildings) aren’t preservationists either.
If the only “preservationist” you’ll take seriously is a developer willing to forego a fast buck, it might be a while before one comes along. The buildings being demolished were occupied and on the tax rolls until the village emptied them. Do you think the symbolic value of having a “tabularasa” here exceeds the hundreds of thousands in tax revenues we’ll be losing (and have lost already)?
Gary Schwab
Oak Park