Niles Rejects Proposal For Pawn Shops

The Niles village board considered a proposal Tuesday to okay a type of store called a merchandise and loan under its zoning ordinance.

In describing these stores to his fellow board members at the monthly village board meeting, Trustee Andrew Przybylo said they are not like the pawn shops of old, but instead clean, modern stores where people can do their Christmas shopping.

"It's what for all extents and purposes is a pawn shop, but they have a bad connotation," said Przybylo. "It will have to conform to state law that stipulates what pawn shops can and can't do. It’s a pawn shop and yet it’s the new pawn shop that’s out there today."

Earlier:

Trustee Louella Preston said she didn't think the shops would fit with or enhance Niles' character.

"I am going to vote no," she said. "Niles has been incorporated since 1899... during that time, we’ve tried to promote the best image of the village of Niles." She cited two awards the village had won, including Business Week's Best Place  to Raise Kids award, as acknowledgment of Niles' positive image. 

Trustee Rosemary Palicki said Niles residents already have access to four pawn shops in a five-mile radius, in addition to cash-for-gold stores, so that residents would have other places to pawn items. She also cited a source who said 80 percent of pawned merchandise is redeemed by those who pawn it, making the shops less about merchandise and more about loans. 

"They pawn them (items) because they need money right then," she observed.

When asked if pawn shops could be a problem, Police Chief Dean Strzelecki said he didn't anticipate that they would be.

The board voted 5-1 to reject the proposal to add the "merchandise and loan" category to the village's zoning ordinance, with only Przybylo voting in favor.

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