Rejecting concerns that allowing Wal-Mart to open shop in Chicago would depress wages and destroy local businesses, the City Council voted Wednesday to permit the retail giant’s first store in Chicago on the West Side.
Aldermen denied the company a total victory, as plans for a second store on the South Side came up one vote short of approval. But the plan for that store, in the 21st Ward, could be brought up for another council vote as soon as June 23.
The votes on zoning changes needed to build the stores culminated a raucous, marathon session that veteran aldermen called the most hotly fought debate since the legendary “Council Wars” of the 1980s.
Council meetings have become increasingly routine affairs in recent years, with aldermen usually rubber-stamping Mayor Richard Daley’s agenda. Although Daley voiced support for Wal-Mart–and the law firm of his brother Michael lobbied for the West Side Wal-Mart–aldermen say the mayor did not pressure them and left the decision up to the council.
Since council members first raised objections to Wal-Mart’s plans in March, Chicago has become the most recent high-profile battleground in the national fight over the company’s push to open stores in urban areas.
Unions and community groups mobilized opposition in recent weeks, highlighting Wal-Mart’s distaste for organized labor and deriding the company’s wages and benefits. As in other parts of the country, those complaints clashed with the desire to bring new stores and their bargain-priced goods to minority neighborhoods.
Ald. Emma Mitts said her economically depressed 37th Ward is in dire need of a new store and the 300 jobs that the West Side Wal-Mart promises. “This is a free country, and we look for low prices,” she said.
In the end, though, the council’s split on the two plans may have been determined by black aldermen who wanted to teach a harsh lesson to a freshman member accused of lacking proper respect for more senior council members.
All but two African-American aldermen at the meeting supported Mitts and her quest for a Wal-Mart in the Austin neighborhood. Yet, some of those same aldermen voted against the plan on the South Side for the Chatham section of the 21st Ward, represented by Ald. Howard Brookins.
Brookins a factor
South Side aldermen who split their votes said they sided with Mitts because she aggressively sought their backing, pointedly noting that Brookins ignored them and took their support for granted–until his proposal became the subject of wide debate.
“[Brookins] didn’t do his homework,” said Ald. William Beavers (7th), who supported both Wal-Mart proposals.
Aldermen voted 32-15 to approve the zoning change required for a Wal-Mart store at Grand and Kilpatrick Avenues on the West Side.
Brookins apologized for his lapse of aldermanic etiquette, but his contrition was not enough to win support for a 50-acre shopping center that also would include an Office Depot and a Lowe’s home-improvement store. Aldermen voted 25-21, one vote short of approval, on the plan for the site of a former steel plant at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue.
Ald. Shirley Coleman (16th) was among those who voted for the West Side Wal-Mart but not the South Side project. She said she promised Mitts her vote, while Brookins only sought her favor later.
Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) voted for the West Side plan because, she said, “I gave my word to the sister.”
But Lyle said she was dismayed to learn of the proposal for Brookins’ ward from media reports. Before voting against that plan, she called Wal-Mart a “Death Star business” for merchants in her South Side ward.
Under council rules, a measure must get 26 votes, a majority of the council’s 50 total aldermen, to be approved. Ald. Edward Burke (14th) moved to send the matter back to the Zoning Committee. Otherwise, the South Side Wal-Mart proposal would have died.
Brookins said the vote Wednesday was “a temporary setback.”
Wal-Mart executives can use the time to address aldermanic reservations, Daley said.
“I hope they are listening to the 50 aldermen here,” the mayor said. “It is a very controversial issue. On some issues, Wal-Mart must face reality.”
Both sides score points
Wednesday’s outcome allowed both sides in the dispute to claim some success.
“Any time we get to better serve our customers, it’s a huge deal,” Wal-Mart spokesman John Bisio said.
“A half a loaf is better than none,” said Ron Powell, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881.
More Top Picks Best Ankle Weights
The union is a major opponent of Wal-Mart’s expansion in Chicago and across the country. The growth of Wal-Mart’s grocery business is commonly blamed for driving down wages at unionized supermarket chains.
No `Supercenters’
Neither Wal-Mart planned for Chicago would be a “Supercenter” that sells groceries, company officials said. Still, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company has denied union demands that it vow in writing never to open a Supercenter in the city.
The controversy surrounding Wal-Mart has extended far beyond City Hall and into Chicago’s neighborhoods. Supporters and opponents jammed the council chamber and cheered frequently, prompting Daley to bang his gavel often to silence catcalls.
The Wal-Mart debate lasted more than three hours and evoked that era when contentious votes were commonplace and a mayor had to scrounge for votes for his initiatives.
“We haven’t debated an issue like this since the Harold Washington days,” Beavers said.
– – –
HOW THEY VOTED
26 votes needed for passage
Y Yes / N No / NP Not present
ALDERMAN / AUSTIN 37th Ward / CHATHAM 21st Ward
1. M. Flores Y / N
2. M. Haithcock Y / Y
3. D. Tillman NP / NP
4. T. Preckwinkle NP / N
5. L. Hairston Y / N
6. F. Lyle Y / N
7. W. Beavers Y / Y
8. T. Stroger Y / Y
9. A. Beale Y / N
10. J. Pope Y / Y
11. J. Balcer Y / Y
12. G. Cardenas Y / Y
13. F. Olivo N / N
14. E. Burke Y / Y
15. T. Thomas N / N
16. S. Coleman Y / N
17. L. Thomas Y / NP
18. T. Murphy N / N
19. V. Rugai N / N
20. A. Troutman Y / Y
21. H. Brookins Y / Y
22. R. Munoz N / N
23. M. Zalewski N / N
24. M. Chandler Y / Y
25. D. Solis Y / NP
26. B. Ocasio Y / Y
27. W. Burnett Y / Y
28. E. Smith Y / Y
29. I. Carothers Y / Y
30. A. Reboyras Y / Y
31. R. Suarez Y / Y
32. T. Matlak Y / Y
More Top Picks Eufy Indoor Cam E220
33. R. Mell Y / Y
34. C. Austin Y / Y
35. R. Colon N / N
36. W. Banks N / N
37. E. Mitts Y / Y
38. T. Allen N / N
39. M. Laurino N / N
40. P. O’Connor N / N
41. B. Doherty Y / Y
42. B. Natarus Y / Y
43. V. Daley Y / Y
44. T. Tunney Y / Y
45. P. Levar N / N
46. H. Shiller N / N
47. E. Schulter N / N
48. M. Smith NP / NP
49. J. Moore N / N
50. B. Stone Y / Y
YES VOTE:
AUSTIN: 32 PASSED
CHATHAM: 25 FAILED
baiduhai