South Side Wal-Mart Plans Dead: Daley

Mayor Richard Daley contends there is no chance the latest effort to have a Wal-Mart built on Chicago's South Side will succeed.

Daley said Thursday that even though the store would generate tax revenue and create jobs for neighborhood residents, there aren't enough votes in the City Council to pass the required redevelopment agreement.

Alderman Howard Brookins has tried for years to locate a Wal-Mart store in an industrial site being redeveloped into a shopping center. Currently, Wal-Mart operates a store on Chicago's West Side.

Opposition to Wal-Mart has come from labor unions, who claim the retailer does not pay workers adequately and skimp on benefits.

Daley's floor leader in the City Council, Alderman Pat O'Connor, says Brookins' latest effort comes at a time the city is trying to keep peace with the unions.

-ASSOCIATED PRESS

Comments

[BushBites]

Good.

Now give the space to a legitimate retailer that sells AMERICAN products.

[postman606]

Who might that be?

[47th]

Daley is a bully! If he wanted a Wal Mart on the South side, he would threaten a week kneed city council to make it happen. If the Aldermen are trying to keep peace with the unions, why don't they tell Daley to find somewhere else to close the city budget gap besides laying off union workers?

[petphotos]

Chicago 1
Walmart 0