Jul 24, 2006 6:00 pm US/Central
Big Box Ordinance Debate Intensifies
Supporters Say Ordinance Will Lift Working Poor; Critics Say It Will Drive Away Development
by Derrick Blakley
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The clash over Chicago's proposed big box ordinance is coming to a climax with a City Council vote scheduled for this Wednesday.
Supporters believe raising the minimum wage for big box stores like Target and Wal-Mart will lift the working poor. Critics say it will drive away jobs and development.
As CBS 2's Derrick Blakely reports, both sides pressed their cases Monday at a secret meeting with several aldermen.
With the vote just two days away, at least ten African American aldermen met in South Shore to hear last-ditch arguments from both sides in the living wage debate as big business accused the big unions of threatening to muscle council members out of office.
"They're telling aldermen they're going to vote them out with their troops, and they're going to dry up their financial resources," said ABLE's Hermene Hartmann.
But aldermen say the threats are coming from both sides.
"If anything, the intense pressure I've been getting is from people with a financial stake in bringing Wal-Mart in, the people who already have contracts. The people who want contracts," Ald. Freddrenna M. Lyle (6th) said.
"I'm getting calls day and night. And yes, there are threats and talk about getting big money to put me out of office. So yes, those threats are very, very real," said Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th)
Wal-Mart's targeting Chicago's run-down inner city for at least 10 new stores, the first now being finished in Lawndale. But like Target, it's threatening to hold off on new stores if the living wage passes.
The proposed ordinance ultimately would require mega retailers in the city to pay their workers at least $10 an hour in wages plus another $3 in fringe benefits. That's significantly above Illinois' minimum wage of $6.50 and about twice the federal minimum wage of $5.15.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley was joined by some religious leaders Monday in denouncing the proposed city ordinance.
Mayor Daley called the big box ordinance a form of racial discrimination against inner city areas.
"When they come into the inner city, they're going to blanket that out," Daley said. "No, no, no. That's what redlining is."
The mayor says no one complained when Wal-Marts were being built in the suburbs and that inner-city residents deserve jobs and shopping choices, too.
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce also led a coalition of more than 30 business leaders today in condemning the proposal.
"We don't believe the City Council should be used as a collective bargaining tool," said Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce's Jerry Roper.
Right now, it's believed there are enough votes to pass the living wage ordinance but the vote is expected to be close.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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