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Big Box Veto Draws Cheers, Protests

Mayor Daley Vetoed Ordinance On Monday

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CHICAGO (CBS) ― It will be a monumental day at Chicago City Hall on Wednesday. That's when Mayor Richard M. Daley will veto the big-box ordinance which calls for a living wage of $10 an hour plus $3 an hour in benefits at large retailers.

Protesters surrounded Mayor Richard M. Daley this morning, but likely too late to stop his veto of the big-box ordinance.

At about 10 a.m. Wednesday, Daley will call the Chicago City Council to order, setting the stage for a showdown over his first-ever veto.

At issue: the council's big-box ordinance which forces large retail stores to pay employees $13 an hour in wages and benefits. The rules would only apply to companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales and stores of at least 90,000 square feet.

As CBS 2's Rob Johnson reports, it will be the first veto in his 17 year run as mayor, and as of Tuesday night, it didn't appear his critics had the votes to override that veto.

Protesters gathered today in the shadow of the site of proposed new Home Depot and Target stores on the Far South Side. They hope somehow the mayor's veto can be overridden.

But aldermen like Carrie Austin (34th), whose ward will get these new stores, say it's all about the jobs, no matter what the pay.

"I would like to thank my colleagues who are here with me today. I am so grateful for them standing on the side of people who need it the most," Austin said.

Mayor Daley has been emboldened by the knowledge that several aldermen who originally voted for the law now support his veto, delivering him a huge political victory.

"We must do all we can to keep Chicago competitive and provide decent wages," Daley said.

But some of Tuesday's protesters believed the mayor lacks courage by ignoring the will of the people.

"Be a man about it be a man and fight for what is right, fight for your people. 71 percent of Chicagoans want you to pass this. Be a man, stand up to something," Shiren Rattigan said.

"I want to thank you, for now we have a chance to lift up Woodlawn, to lift up Bronzeville, to lift up Englewood," said the Rev. Leon Finney of The Woodlawn Organization, a community group. "I want to thank you giving us a shot to come back to life."

Toni Foulkes, works for Jewel Foods. She was among dozens of union members outside the mayor's rally. They fear low-wage, low-price Wal-Mart-style super centers could put their employers out of business.

"If they let them in, it will affect my job," Foulkes said.

But Daley said: "Look at all the development sites that we can get on the South Side, the West Side, the Southeast Side, the Southwest Side, the North Side. Look at all the development sites we have, and that means a lot of jobs that means real estate taxes and revenue."

While community leaders lashed out at those coming from outside the neighborhood to impose their will on the matter.

One local minister shouted, "Robin Hood stay out of the 'hood," referring to the Rev. Robin Hood, coordinator of the community group ACORN, which organized Tuesday's protest.

Daley wants to go ahead with the showdown vote on his veto in the City Council meeting on Wednesday, but some who are trying to override the veto would like to put off the vote until next month.

The mayor said he was confident that his veto would stand, and those who support the ordinance – who got a majority of 35 for the original vote – now concede there are significant defections and Daley will very likely win if a vote on the veto is held Wednesday.

In a letter to City Council members released Monday, Daley said the ordinance would drive businesses from Chicago.

"I understand and share a desire to ensure that everyone who works in the city of Chicago earns a decent wage," Daley wrote. "But I do not believe that this ordinance, well intentioned as it may be, would achieve that end."

The mayor wrote: "I believe it would drive jobs and businesses from our city, penalizing neighborhoods that need additional economic activity the most."

During his 17 years in office, Daley has enjoyed a near total hold on the City Council, and the veto was his first ever.

Ald. Shirley Coleman (16th) is now siding with the mayor, even though she voted in favor of the ordinance when it was approved

Coleman said Wal-Mart has agreed to open a store in her ward, at 62nd and Halsted streets. Construction is set to begin in about a year. Coleman says hundreds of jobs will be created, even if many of them are not $10 an hour.

"I am doing what constituents are telling me is best for our community," she said. "They're tired of going out to the suburbs to shop at Wal-Mart."

Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said the company is eyeing "many different sites throughout the Chicagoland area," but hasn't confirmed any new locations.

Coleman's change of heart a big disappointment to organized labor, as well as Ald. Joe Moore (49th).

"Well, she'll have to answer to her constituents and the voters," Moore said, "and I hope that my colleagues in the City Council hold firm, stand with working men and women, stand with the taxpayers and vote to override this veto."

The minimum wage in Illinois is $6.50 an hour and the federal minimum is $5.15.

Chicago has been at the epicenter of a debate about the wages at large retailers ever since the city rejected a proposal by to open another store on the South Side, prompting the company to open a store just outside the city limits.

It takes 34 votes to override a mayoral veto. The measure passed 35-14.

The veto drew quick praise from corporations that oppose the measure.

"We'll be watching it closely and we hope that the City Council follows Mayor Daley's lead in sustaining the veto," said Wal-Mart's Tovar, who called Daley's decision a "victory" for working families.

In a statement, Minneapolis-based Target Corp. said the living wage ordinance was part of an "extreme agenda being promoted by special interest groups."

"The ordinance would have discouraged new retail development in Chicago communities needing it most by driving up the cost of doing business," the statement said.

Jennifer Smith, a Lowe's Cos. spokeswoman, said the Mooresville, N.C.-based company thought the mayor's veto will create a more "business friendly" environment in Chicago. The company opened its first home improvement store in Chicago's city limits last year.

"Lowe's had certainly consistently said we believe the ordinance was unfair and created an unfair playing field," she said.

Other cities with living-wage laws include Santa Fe and Albuquerque in New Mexico, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Big-box ordinance sponsor Ald. Joe Moore (49th) vowed to continue making this issue a priority, win or lose tomorrow.

"This issue's not going to go away, win or lose tomorrow, we're going to keep fighting for a living wage," Moore said.

Debate on the veto will begin around noon Wednesday.

Of course it will be interesting to see how this plays out in five months during city elections.

Labor leaders have vowed to target aldermen loyal to the mayor on this issue, because they believe those aldermen are anti-worker.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)