In the third quarter of 2008, Wal-Mart’s profits rose 10 percent. The retailer wasn’t so lucky in the quarter that followed, posting a 7.4 percent dip, according to data released today. Some of those losses are self-inflicted -- in December, the company settled 63 class-action wage and hour lawsuits, cutting into its resources substantially. Nonetheless, Wal-Mart continues to sell a lot of goods:

Total sales rose to $109.12 billion from $107.34 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected $109.1 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.8 percent in the quarter.Same-store sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health.

During the quarter, Wal-Mart’s American sales rose 6 percent to $71.46 billion. The Sam’s Club warehouse division saw sales virtually flat at $11.84 billion, as its small business members cut back on discretionary purchases amid a deteriorating economy.

Amidst the national economic wreckage, Wal-Mart is still humming along on the backs of its low-wage workforce. Which begs the question: if the company wants to expand into Chicago, can’t legislators and taxpayers ask the behemoth to pay its workers a decent wage?

In that vein, the Reader’s Mick Dumke reports that Ald. Howard Beale -- whose 9th Ward has apparently been targeted in Wal-Mart’s latest push -- has his priorities straight:

“They’re going to have to prove to aldermen and the unions that they have seen the errors of their ways -- not paying a decent wage or offering benefits to their employees and discriminating against women,” he said. Beale’s recent conversations with company officials hadn’t touched on any of those issues, he said, but he was optimistic that it would be possible to reach agreements. “I’m a firm believer that there’s always common ground.”