Sep 12, 2006 6:29 pm US/Central
Big-Box Opponents Gain New Ally In Englewood
Ald. Shirley Coleman (16th) Says Most Constituents Oppose Big-Box Ordinance
by Mike Parker
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Supporters on both sides of the big-box ordinance debate were fighting vigorously Tuesday to sway the votes of Chicago aldermen.
On Wednesday, the City Council is expected to decide whether to override the mayor's veto of the ordinance, the first veto since he took office 17 years ago.
As CBS 2's Mike Parker reports from Englewood, where hundreds of jobs hang in the balance.
Wal-Mart tentatively plans to build new a store at 62nd and Halsted Streets if the veto holds and they have a new ally in Ald. Shirley Coleman (16th). She originally voted for the ordinance, but said she will change her vote after learning that the overwhelming majority of her constituents oppose it.
Even one of the currency exchanges is shuttered in Coleman's economically battered 16th ward. The Englewood area is battered by failed businesses and crushing unemployment.
It's no wonder then, that she's decided jobs and unregulated Wal-Mart pay are better than no new jobs at all.
The associate editor of a South Side black newspaper agrees. "I can't have an income and tell somebody who don't have an income to go back to the streets selling loose cigarettes, bootleg CDs, getting arrested, going to jail," Mark Allen of the South Street Journal said.
Derrick Sanders is an ex-convict who got a job at Sam's Club, then Wal-Mart, learned how to manage money and himself and now owns two businesses.
"I own my own company now, so after that started going good, I started a catering company," Sanders said. "I think Wal-Mart gave me the stepping stone. I'm not saying the money is great, but some money is better than no money."
But if that Wal-Mart does come to the 16th Ward, small businesses just down the street have reason to be wary.
Delores Hamilton, of the Rainbow Clothing Store, said, "They might be even a little cheaper than we are right now, you know. And that might hurt, obviously."
Small business owners have reason for concern. Historically, when Wal-Mart moves into a community, small businesses surrounding the store often begin to close.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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