More than six years after approving Chicago’s only Wal-Mart store, the City Council approved a South Side development that will include the retail giant’s second store in town.
The unanimous vote came a week after organized labor dropped its longstanding opposition to the non-union company’s plans, which had the support of Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Union leaders say they relented after Wal-Mart promised to pay workers at least 50 cents more than the minimum wage at the new store in the Pullman neighborhood.
The only Wal-Mart in the city is on the West Side, in the Austin neighborhood.
“Wal-Mart will be good for our neighborhoods, good for our workers,” Daley told reporters after the vote.
The mayor again noted that there are many Wal-Mart stores already open near Chicago. “If it can happen in the suburban communities, why not here? Simple as that.”
The mayor shrugged off questions of how Wal-Mart’s expansion in the city could impact small businesses.
“In the areas where they are looking at, there are very few small businesses,” he said. “They know where to go.”
Wal-Mart has promised to build dozens of stores in the city, but company officials say some of the stores could be smaller than their average outlet.
Daley said the impasse over Wal-Mart ended because of the weak economy.
“The No. 1 issue in America is jobs,” he said. “You hear from people [that] they just want something.”
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart called today’s Council action a “victory” for the South Side.
“But there is more to do. To that end, we have already started to identify additional opportunities across the city that will help more Chicagoans save money and live better,” Hank Mullany, executive vice president and president, Wal-Mart North said in a statement. “Over the next several months, we look forward to working with the city to help ensure our stores are part of the solution in terms of creating jobs, stimulating economic development and eradicating food deserts here.”