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As You Shop, So Shall You Reap

There are several biblical references concerning “we reap what we sow.” In Eastern religions, it’s the concept of receiving good karma or bad karma. Many communities of northern Illinois are now witnessing the devastating effects of online shopping. Retailers are leaving the area at an increasing rate. This leaves our area more and more of a retail wasteland. 

 
In the past 3 and a half years, Sterling has lost Kmart, Radio Shack, Staples, Kidder Music, Book World, and this is the last week for the going out of business sale for Sears. At Northland Mall, JCPenney left a year ago and now the second anchor, Bergner’s, is leaving. People wonder how the mall in Sterling can survive. 
 
So many stores have left the mall that serves LaSalle-Peru, there are rumors of making it the region’s jail. My friend in Macomb says there are like 3 stores left in the Galesburg Mall. That mall seems doomed. Yes, we are losing local options for shopping. We are also losing needed tax revenue. 
 
If we continue to shop online at the rate many of us are, sales taxes will continue to fall and needed municipal services will be strained even more. And, having retailers is a big part of a small town’s identity. That identity is being lost. The next time you get on a computer or tablet to make a purchase online, think about the local business where you could get that same product; think about the employees who work there. 
 
I’m Phillip LeFevre, and that’s my Perspective. 

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