Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 18

2 Section 2 Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, September 25, 1985 Citysuburbs Hispanic companies on the riset Further growth depends on city, report says Harmon resigns his tourist post 0 business," said Robert Mier, commissioner of the city's Department of Economic Development, which cosponsored the forum with the Latino Institute, an information clearinghouse on Hispanic studies. According to Arturo Vasquez, a deputy commissioner in the department and a chief organizer of the research project, a final report will be ready by early November. The department already has agreed to implement 10 of 40 recommendations in the study, which included a recommendation to develop Hispanic firms in several crucial fields. The study indicated that more Hispanic firms are needed in the fields of engineering, consulting and high-tech manufacturing, which are among the fastest growing in the nation. Hispanics in Chicago represent an estimated 19 percent of the population and are most successful in the food industry, construction, auto-related businesses and neighborhood-oriented retail and service businesses, such as beauty shops and liquor stores, according to the study.

Vasquez said the Hispanic busi-I ness community is vital in terms of the city's long-range health. "As a sector, representing a significant growth factor, it would be reprehensible not to pay attention to it," he said. "The other aspect is that the Hispanic community itself is significant in stabilizing a community." The Washington administration, "can hold the door open, but the. community, along with us, has to find the people to step through it," said Ernest Barefield, the mayor's1 chief of staff. In backing the mayor's commitment, Mier said that of the 200 to 300 special business loans authorized by the Economic Develop? ment Department for eight years under previous administrations, only nine minority firms were included.

By contrast, in the two years Washington has been in office, one-third to one-half of the 75 loans given have been to minority companies. But in the small-group discussions that followed the presentation by Armando Triana, director of De Paul University's Center for Research on Hispanics and the report's primary researcher, some doubt was raised about the city's success in developing Hispanid business. "There was some criticism that because not enough Hispanics are at the contract review level iK city government, not enough His panics are getting contracts," said Juan Montenegro of the Mayor'ij Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, a round-table discussion leader. It was just instinct "I heard the', scream and just assumed he tried to rob recalls Christopher Rressey, 25, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he is recuperating from stab wounds. Pressey helped slow the flight of a man Escaping after an interrupted attack on a woman on North Wabash Avenue Tuesday morning: "It's something I Just did out of Pressey added.

The assailant was apprehended a half block away. Dogged detective work puts leash on suspect By Manuel Gal van Though the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in Chicago has grown 48 percent in a decade, the firms still represent a small proportion of small businesses: less than 7 percent of the city's self-employed population. But the self-employed Hispanic community in Chicago is among the fastest-growing, posting a 48 percent growth rate from 1970 to 1980 while the number of self-em-ploye'd non-Hispanics dropped by 20 percent. These were among the key findings of a draft version of the Latino Business Development Research Project presented Tuesday to about 150 business and community leaders in the Chicago Public Library's Cultural Center. Because of the rapid growth of this segment of the city's business community, the group stressed the need for a strong commitment by the City of Chicago to continue its development.

Without such a mitment, the group said, growth could fall behind. Hispanic leaders were told Tues-day that Mayor Harold Washington's administration is committed to helping them, but some said that intent alone is hot enough. "The mayor has placed a high priority on promoting Hispanic State closes By Robert Enstad State fire investigators said Tuesday that they cannot determine the cause of the spectacular fire that destroyed the Arlington Park Race Track on July 31. Harold L. Schmeilski, Illinois state fire marshal, said in a statement released in Springfield that his investigation of the fire is closed.

"A careful and thorough examination of various potential causes was made difficult by the exten-siveness of the fire damage," Schmeilski said. "Our special agent on the scene viewed various materials and could not make a determination of a cause." The investigators said in early August that the fire apparently probe of Arlington fire Trtbura pholo by Cart Hugara lar stories from dog owners who told of paying a man who left them holding their leashes. William Felke and Steven Levant of the Cabrini-Green tactical unit agreed to wait for the deal at the bus depot. At 5:30 p.m., Redzepi arrived at the Trailways station with $70 in an envelope. She went to a bank of three phones and waited for the call from the man, who said his name was Tony.

The phone rang, and "Tony" told Redzepi to leave the money on the phone counter. Plainclothes officer Felke was standing at one of the three phones, pretending to make a call. Seconds after Redzupi walked away, a man appeared and snatched the money. Police then collared the man. Willie L.

Jones, 37, of 1200 S. Wabash, was charged with two counts of theft and was being held at the Central District lock-up. By Henry Wood Area dog owners had been howling for six weeks about being conned by a man who offered to find their missing pooches. The police Tuesday showed that they weren't barking up the wrong tree. The canine caper began Tuesday afternoon, when Eileen Redzepi, 20, of Chicago, received a phone call from a man who told her he had found her dog, a red-haired Doberman named Sir Mack.

The man said he saw an advertisement Redzepi placed in Tues-day's newspaper. He asked Redzepi to go to the Trailways Bus Terminal at 20 E. Randolph St. and pay him $70 for the return of Sir Mack. Redzepi smelled a rat in the offer to return her dog, so she called police.

She reached Sgt. Thomas North-fell of the Rogers Park tactical unit, who said he had heard simi started in the ceiling area of the Horsemen's Lounge building at the track. They said there was no evidence of arson. Schmeilski said insurance investigators have taken some electrial components from the lounge area to a laboratory for analysis. A track employee who discovered the blaze reported that the fire at first smelled like wires burning.

Schmeilski said he has not' received a report from insurance investigators and doesn't know when it will arrive. "Until we have such a report and reason to inves-1 tigate further," he said, "our file' on this case is closed." A spokesman for the fire marshal's office said it is not uncom mon for investigators to fail to determine the cause of a fire, particularly when the damage is so extensive. The fire started in the lounge area, spread to the track's execu-j tive offices and smoldered in the; grandstand building for several hours before engulfing the com-' plex. If raged out of control for more than 14 hours and put an end to thoroughbred racing this year at Arlington Park. 'i Joseph Joyce, president of Ar-I lington Park, has announced that he and other track owners want t6 rebuild the track, hopefully in time for next year's racing season.

But they say they will not rebuild unless they can obtain real estate tax concessions from Cook County and a reduction in the state racing tax. Joseph Hannon, who resigned Friday as managing director of McCormick Place, submitted another resignation Tuesday as president of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. Tuesday's resignation was accepted immediately by the convention bureau's board of directors. Don DePorter, chairman of the convention bureau and regional vice president of the Hyatt Hotels in Chicago, said Hannon was voted one year's salary of $52,500, plus $7,500 in deferred compensation by the bureau's board members. Hannon had Vi years left on his contract with the convention bureau.

When he resigned from McCormick Place, Hannon was granted $11,500 in salary and vacation pay and $22,500 in deferred compensation. DePorter said the resignation was Hannon's decision. "He did want to hamper the convention bureau with the negative press he's received," DePorter said. board gave him a standing lovation when he left." DePorter praised Hannon for Iproviding "a very strong foundation on which to build and grow. His legacy is one of achievement." Hannon became the center of (Controversy in recent weeks with reports of $65 million in cost over-runs in the ongoing construction of McCormick Place annex.

McCormick Place officials have asked for additional funds from the 1 state legislature to finance the lannex, but many legislators have, contended that McCormick Place should have maintained more control on costs in the (expansion project. Senate President Philip Rock Oak Park has asked for the entire McCor-mick Place board of directors to resign as the price of further fund-ling from the legislature. 1 Hannon got into more trouble it was disclosed that he had borrowed $390,000 to finance the of his $500,000 penthouse 'home using a bank whose stands to benefit from I the McCormick Place expansion. DePorter said he will assume Hannon's title as president of the 'convention bureau and serve without pay. He said the day-to-day operations of the bureau would be taken over by Gerald J.

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