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Chicago City Council
Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
9:59am
Wed Jul 28, 2010

Will Moore Delay Vote On Third Chicago Walmart? (UPDATED)

Chicago Ald. Joe Moore (49th Ward) is still considering it, according to BusinessWeek:

“I am concerned with our willingness to just rush in and sign off on all these other Wal-Marts,” Alderman Joe Moore said in a telephone interview. It would be wiser for the city to wait and see how the second store, on the far south side, affects surrounding businesses and the neighborhood, he said. [...]

He said he hadn’t decided whether to follow through on his threat to delay a council vote [Wednesday] on the Chatham store if the law department found the $8.75-an-hour wage unenforceable. [...] Two aldermen could delay the Wal-Mart vote with a motion to defer, Moore said. He said he is “fairly confident” he could find a colleague to help him stall the vote.

Today's full council meeting is just beginning.  Check back later today to see if Moore followed through or not.

UPDATE (11:45 a.m.): The ordinance clearing the way for the third Walmart passed 41-4.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:05pm
Mon Jul 26, 2010

The "Walmart Candidate" Cashes In

Walmart seems to have found another way to spend the money it won't promise to pay future Chicago employees. Illinois State Board of Elections disclosures show that the Arkansas-based retailer shoveled $50,000 last month into the campaign fund of GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady. The news shouldn't come as a surprise. Last October, Brady launched his "jobs tour" at the site of the proposed Walmart store on Chicago's South Side and has praised the company repeatedly on the campaign trail. The ideological allies also like to promote "job growth" while obscuring their commitment to low wages.

On Wednesday, the full Chicago City Council will vote on a third proposed Walmart store. While Ald. Joe Moore (49th Ward) is pressuring the city’s legal department to come up with a brief determining whether the city can take the big box retailer to court if it doesn’t follow through on its handshake agreement, most aldermen seem content to let Walmart ignore its promise entirely. Barring some unforseen development, expect a quick approval later this week.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
2:00pm
Fri Jul 23, 2010

A Living Wage At Walmart? Not So Fast.

Will the "historic" agreement between Walmart and Chicago's labor unions to pay entry-level workers at the store's future Chicago locations $8.75-per-hour ever be enforced? That was the question we asked the day the handshake deal went down in late June. One month later, it's becoming increasingly clear that Walmart has little interest in following through on its promise.

Check out this quote that Walmart spokesman Steve Restivo gave to the Reader's Hunter Clauss. After pointing out that the deal is not legally-binding, Restivo said "all I can say is that we will offer a competitive wage." With Mayor Daley badgering aldermen to approve a third store by Wednesday of next week, this one in Chatham on the city's South Side, the supposed watchdogs in the council chambers need to come up with a plan quickly to hold the retailer accountable. Otherwise, it's anyone's guess what the workers will take home.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
3:32pm
Thu Jul 15, 2010
3 comments

National Groups Rally Behind Chicago Coal Ordinance

Energy

Tired of waiting around while Congress dithers and the earth warms, progressive members of the Chicago City Council, regulators in the Obama administration, and environmental advocates are taking their own steps to clamp down on dirty coal plants.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
10:14am
Thu Jul 8, 2010

Reining In Daley's TIF Piggy Bank

The Sun-Times' Fran Spielman makes a solid point about the Sweet Home Chicago ordinance this morning that we didn't emphasize in our post yesterday on the issue: By mandating that 20 percent of the revenue Chicago generates in a given year from the tax increment financing (TIF) network be spent on affordable housing projects, the measure would partially "rein in Mayor Daley’s unbridled control over the TIF piggy bank." This is significant considering that a lack of transparency and oversight has turned what should be a useful development tool into a $500 million annual slush fund for the Daley administration.

Expect the mayor to put up a fight. In an interview with Chicago Public Radio's Chip Mitchell yesterday, spokesperson Molly Sullivan said the city already spends "a good amount of TIF for affordable housing." In fact, between 1995 and 2007, the city spent just four percent of TIF funds on affordable housing developments. That doesn't seem like "a good amount" to us.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
2:35pm
Wed Jul 7, 2010
2 comments

The Home Stretch For Sweet Home Chicago

Housing

Members of the Sweet Home Chicago coalition aren't resting until their affordable housing ordinance gets a vote in the City Council. We report on the latest TIF reform fight at City Hall.