[Vision2020] Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on Wal-Mart

[Kenneth Marcy]

http://tinyurl.com/27ehsws 

Mayor Richard Daley today called for a vote by the full City Council 
on a contentious plan for a Wal-Mart on the Far South Side, 
regardless of whether the council's Zoning Committee first approves 
the proposal.

"Vote it up or down, and then go back and tell the people 'Hey, I got 
a job as alderman, but you don't have one, ha ha ha,'" said Daley who 
supports the Wal-Mart as a rare opportunity to put hundreds of people 
to work in a down economy. "Laugh at the people: 'I got a job, OK, 
you don't have a job.' "
 
Ald. Daniel Solis, 25th, the zoning committee chairman, said in the 
event the proposal for the residential and shopping development 
anchored by the giant retailer in the Pullman neighborhood does not 
get a majority of votes in his committee, he would consider sending 
it to the full council anyway.
 
"I would consult with Alderman Beale, depending on what the vote is," 
said Solis, who is trying to determine if the committee hearing will 
be held May 5 or May 7.

Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, has been pushing hard to get the Pullman 
project going in his ward, arguing his constituents need the jobs as 
well as the grocery store Wal-Mart would provide as an oasis in the 
Far South Side "food desert."

Labor unions and aldermanic allies oppose allowing big retailers such 
as Wal-Mart into the city without approval of a so-called living wage 
ordinance. The latest version introduced would require retailers who 
get city subsidies for their project to pay workers at least $11.03 
an hour.

The years-long stalemate on the issue has left Chicago with only one 
Wal-Mart within the city limits.


http://tinyurl.com/27ehsws 


Ken