Editorial: Old Orchard Mall is ‘blighted’? You’ve got to be kidding, Skokie.

The Old Orchard shopping mall, suburban home of the Apple Store, Nordstrom and L’Occitane en Provence is a blighted area, the village of Skokie has declared.

And why has the local government made so absurd a declaration? In order to enact a shady new sales tax on anyone who shops there.

Worse, that tax quietly added to your shopping bill will go directly to, wait for it, the private owner of the mall, which is technically known as the Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center.

We were worried the Chicago Bears might put their hands in our pockets. We didn’t expect this to happen at one of Chicagoland’s best-known shopping destinations. The Bears at least have fans; the international mall colossus known as Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has lobbyists.

Skokie, which long has enjoyed hefty tax returns from the mall (historically as much as $50 million a year), has been worried about declining returns at the mall in the face of the pandemic. Thus, Pioneer Press reported, Skokie Village Board members at their Feb. 7 board meeting voted 7-1 to make the mall a “business district.”

That means Old Orchard qualifies under the Illinois’ Business District Development and Redevelopment Sales Tax provision. Skokie has chosen the maximum allowable adjustment: hence, anything you buy at Old Orchard now will be subject to an extra 1% sales tax. On top of the current 10.25%. And roaring inflation.

And if you’re choosing to eat at, say, at Uncle Julio’s or Maggiano’s, those menu prices are not going to tell you the whole story. Once the new tax is added to additional restaurant tax levies, you’ll need to budget an additional 13.25% in tax. Add in a tip and a $20 entree at Old Orchard is now close to $30.

This is a crazy idea and should be voted down, or at least drastically modified, when it comes before the whole village board in March. Hurrah for Trustee James Johnson who stood up against this scheme.

The legislation was intended to help struggling neighborhoods and downtowns. The Illinois municipal code refers in part to ”commercial buildings and structures detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the occupants and the welfare of the urban community because of age, dilapidation, overcrowding or faulty arrangement, or lack of ventilation, light, sanitation facilities, adequate utilities or access to transportation.”

Does that sound like Old Orchard to you?

Giving extra tax money to a single owner is mere corporate welfare. We don’t doubt that Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which has been complaining about having to pay high property taxes like the rest of us, will enjoy receiving a projected $5 million in new annual receipts direct from shoppers’ pockets and, sure, they will reinvest that money in improvements. Skokie officials say they have received those assurances. Great.

But as this global company well knows, these are the costs of doing business with a Grade A mall.

Of course, revenues were down in the pandemic. But stroll through the financial reports of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and you read an upbeat narrative of global recovery and reinvention. The respected company expects footfall (and lease signings and rent receipts) to increase across its international portfolio of properties in spring and summer, and we think they’re likely correct.

Skokie is panicking needlessly (revenues declined at most every shopping destination during the pandemic) and now is sticking its hand in people’s pockets, especially shafting the nonresidents who come to this mall and would be smart to head somewhere else instead for their makeup and MacBooks.

And what about the inequity of all this? What about the impact on the few local businesses at the mall, already struggling to make rent and now forced to charge more to their customers? Old Orchard is surrounded by strip malls. Why should one mall be forced to charge more tax than another? Surely, any such increase should be applied equitably to the whole village.

Then there’s the matter of adequate disclosure. Will shoppers know this is going on at Old Orchard? Will Skokie insist on flyers posted at the mall entrances telling folks their purchases are subject to an additional tax going to the mall owners? It should. People have the right to know about compulsory charges.

And don’t get us started on what this might do for copycat owners. If you have a mall elsewhere, you now can go to your local government and dangle Skokie’s concession. Before you know it, other mall owners will be whining and municipalities will be adding a new tax, fearful their malls will be allowed to deteriorate.

This is precisely what happened in the world of new sports stadiums and it took years for cities across the nation to figure out that they were being played.

Yes, “blighted” is a technical term, somewhat akin to the declaration of an emergency to secure federal aid, even when no ambulances are called. And we’ll stipulate that it sometimes behooves local governments to aid private businesses to keep communities vibrant.

But the best way to do that is to benefit many business owners, as when a district charges a special tax to fund sidewalk improvements. Such situations should come with both clear disclosure and a rapid sunset.

We’re not aware of either in this case, beyond the state’s requirement that the tax last for no longer than 23 years, an absurdly long duration.

For years, Skokie talked about extending the CTA Yellow Line to Old Orchard. That plan never went anywhere, but it would have been a reasonable way to help this mall, aiding the landlord, shopper and the hourly employees who work there. That would have been good public investment. Far better than slapping on a new tax and giving it to the owner of the mall.

Old Orchard needs to adapt to fit our new shopping, dining and retailing landscape, but, despite the well-documented issues facing all malls, it remains well-positioned to do so. It has a great location, a rich history, top-drawer tenants and a pleasing ambiance well suited to the coming post-pandemic spring.

Scrap this tax, Mayor George Van Dusen. Let Old Orchard fans keep their money to spend at all your village’s stores.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.