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When a shopping street goes silent
A place that usually feels loud and lively can change fast when people stop coming out. In Chicago, shop owners in Little Village say daily foot traffic has thinned out for weeks at a time. The result is a weird kind of quiet on a street built for crowds.
This is not a story about one store having a bad month. It is about fear changing routines, errands, and work schedules across an entire corridor. And once that habit of staying home sets in, it is hard to reverse.
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Why 26th Street punches above its weight
Locals call 26th Street the Mexican Magnificent Mile, and it is not just a nickname. Guides and local reporting describe a two-mile retail stretch with hundreds of businesses and constant weekend traffic.
That corridor has long been a big sales-tax engine outside downtown. People shop for groceries, grab lunch, pick up party supplies, and run into neighbors without planning it. When that rhythm breaks, it is felt fast, and not only by store owners.
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The operation that reset the mood
Federal enforcement in the area has been linked to Operation Midway Blitz, a campaign the government says targets serious offenders…