Mar 19, 2008 10:43 am US/Central
Second Chicago Wal-Mart May Never Come
City Rejects Plan By Wal-Mart To Open In South Side Shopping Center
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
It looks like the city of Chicago might not get a second Wal-Mart store after all.
The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that the City of Chicago has rejected a request by the world's largest retailer to build another store in the South Side's Chatham neighborhood.
For the project to move forward, Wal-Mart will need to get a law changed by the City Council. Under the current zoning for the Chatham Market shopping center at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue, the city must approve any tenant leasing more than 100,000 square feet, the Tribune said.
Wal-Mart officials say they are still hopeful they can work out a solution with the city.
The first Wal-Mart in the city limits opened in September 2006 at North and Kilpatrick avenues on the city's West Side. That followed a spectacular political battle that began when the City Council passed an ordinance that would have required "big box" stores to pay workers at least $10 an hour plus $3 in fringe benefits.
The rules would only have applied to companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales and stores of at least 90,000 square feet.
But Mayor Richard M. Daley vetoed the ordinance less than two months after it was approved. The City Council failed to override his veto.
In 2005, the city rejected a proposal by Wal-Mart to open a store on the South Side, prompting the company to open a store in Evergreen Park just outside the city limits.
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