Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Chicago's Wal-Mart battle heats up

From today's Chicago Tribune,
In the latest bid to bring a second Wal-Mart store to the city, Ald. Howard B. Brookins Jr. (21st) made a public plea to fellow aldermen to vote to allow Wal-Mart to build a supercenter on the South Side.

"I'm asking my other colleagues to get on board," Brookins said at a press conference at City Hall this morning before the start of the City Council meeting.

Brookins cited rising unemployment and the city's budget shortfall as reasons to let Wal-Mart open in his ward, adding, "We need jobs, plain and simple."

The alderman has been fighting for five years to bring a Wal-Mart to a former steel manufacturing site, now called Chatham Market. In April, he reignited the battle by introducing an amendment to the Chatham Market shopping center development agreement that would repeal a clause aimed at keeping out Wal-Mart.

Brookins had hoped the amendment, now in the Rules Committee, would be up for a vote Tuesday. It was deferred.

Wal-Mart wants to build a supercenter, which also would sell groceries, on the site. The unions have blocked the world's largest retailer from building there. Wal-Mart opened its first city store in Austin in September 2006.

In an interview after the press conference, Brookins said he is "close" to having the 26 votes necessary for the proposal to pass.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Chamber of Commerce is lobbying aldermen on the fence by presenting results of a poll of 11 wards. The poll, which the chamber has yet to disclose publicly, found that residents are "overwhelmingly" in favor of Wal-Mart opening another city store, said Jerry Roper, president and CEO of the chamber.

The unions, for their part, have threatened to resurrect the big-box ordinance, which sets minimum wages and benefits, if the City Council approves the Wal-Mart store. Such a fight could taint the city's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics as the Oct. 2 deadline to select the winning city approaches.
Any thoughts from you? What businesses would you like to see at Chatham Market, either in addition to or instead of Wal-Mart?

1 comment:

  1. I think Chatham Market could be a great place for a restaurant. I don't mean another fast food franchise. A clothing store of some type wouldn't be a bad idea either.

    ReplyDelete

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