By Jeff Huebner
Many people in Wicker Park would say the same thing is true of their neighborhood. Michael Warr–a poet, the executive director of the Guild Complex, and a 20-year resident of West Town–laments the loss of many places in Wicker Park that he believes nurtured local artists. “What’s being stripped away is a way of life. I’ve met with groups of people in Urbus Orbis, where we made plans, shared visions and ideas, and implemented those ideas. Festivals, art openings, collaborations with organizations within the community–lots of positive things came out of those places. I don’t see that type of community anymore. It’s difficult to walk down the streets because so many places are gone. Many have been transformed into something else, and there’s no vestige of what’s been there before. A lot of the time the word ‘gentrification’ gets used for this, but it’s too genteel and simplistic of a word to describe what’s happening in Wicker Park. It’s a very complicated process. It’s not just a question of artists being forced out–artists are moving in. And it’s not just about artists and yuppies–class and color issues are involved too. The most common denominator is, either you can afford to live here or you can’t.”
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Handley says his landlord, Ilene Greenblatt, simply refused to negotiate a new lease (the current one is up in March, though she’s agreed to let him out in January). He says Greenblatt didn’t give a reason. “She doesn’t have to have a reason, because I’m a commercial tenant.” He says he’s had problems with her–including arguments over rent, property taxes, and code violations–almost since he signed his first lease. He claims, for instance, that he never should have had to shell out thousands of dollars to make city-ordered repairs in the building’s common areas.
Handley, who’s nearing 40, says he probably would have got out of the business anyway. He thought about selling the corporation and its assets, but now it’s too late unless someone walks in with cash. “Somebody could come in and make a decent living if they made a change here. But I’m not interested in doing it. It would violate the whole intent I had. Without this location it wouldn’t be the same place. Besides, I’m burnt.”
A series of odd jobs followed, but by 1981 Handley was living in Evanston and working as a headhunter for engineering companies. That same year Cafe Express opened, which he says set off the current wave of classic coffeehouses in the Chicago area. He was among the Evanston cafe’s earliest regulars. “I really felt at home for the first time. It was really convenient–right around the corner from where I lived. I didn’t really have a lot of friends. Everybody I knew was at college, my family was gone, and I was the youngest guy in my office. I read and talked to people. I’d get a double latte in the morning, and a hot cocoa before going to bed at night. Sometimes I’d run out to buy milk for them.”
