At a campaign event over the weekend, GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Brady tried to appeal to minority voters by stressing the need for ... more Wal-Marts.
Turns out Chicago Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th Ward) will carry the torch on creating a living-wage law that would require stores with 50 or more employees to pay those workers $11.03 an hour if they benefit from tax increment financing (TIF) or other public subsidies. When Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward) first floated the legislation (in response to opposition over Wal-Mart's proposed expansion), we noted how it represented a new twist on TIF reform. To her credit, Lyle is expanding the population who would benefit from the higher wages even further. In an ordinance introduced today, she proposes that those providing contracted services -- like cleaning or
landscaping -- benefit from the living wage law as well. The bill is headed to the Burke's Finance Committee next. (See update below.)
"We've come too far to go back now," said Rev. Booker Vance of the Good Jobs Chicago Coalition at a City Hall press conference today. "We won't be denied." Watch:
UPDATE (4:18 pm): According to folks with the Good Jobs Chicago Coalition, Ald. Lyle did not introduce the living wage bill today. There seems to have been some miscommuncation between the alderman and the organizers. We will provide further detail when it becomes available.
While Wal-Mart has long been criticized for paying low-wages, the mega-retailer's insistence on expanding its reach in the Chicago market could end up lifting the floor on wages in those large swathes of the city made up of tax increment financing (TIF) districts.
As the debate over expanding Wal-Mart's reach in Chicago has ramped
back up, supporters for a new store on the city's South Side have
played up the need to create jobs during the ongoing employment crunch.
"There are people out here who need a job," an exacerbated Mayor ...
I first noticed Henry* at the Wal-Mart store located in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. I watched as staff members pulled him in different directions to either joke around or seek work-related advice. He appeared well-respected and admired by his younger associates...
The Chicago City Council held its full monthly meeting yesterday. We've got some of the highlights:
Budget Priorities Take A Beating
All eyes have been on Mayor Daley's 2010 spending plan
as of late, which relies on $370 million from the city's asset-sale
proceeds to ...
Amid reports about Wal-Mart's renewed effort to move back into Chicago, editorial boards and local media figures resorted to a familiar refrain: that people in low-income communities should simply be grateful for any
new jobs. Ald. Howard Brookins Jr. (21st Ward) has also ...
