ANOTHER WAL-MART FOR CHICAGO…?
Three years ago Chicago’s city council approved the rezoning of land at the intersection of West 83rd and South Stewart Avenue for the development of the Chatham Market. But it imposed a big restriction in exchange for its approval.
Wal-Mart would not be then or in the future part of the project.
Maybe.
From the Chicago Sun Times:
Mayor Daley bobbed and weaved on Friday when asked whether he was prepared to grant a developer’s request for administrative approval within 30 days to build a Chatham Wal-Mart.
“Developers ask for a lot. [That's] one thing about developers. And we’ll assess that. I’m not gonna answer that,” the mayor said.
Daley continued to do the political sidestep when asked whether he believes there needs to be another City Council vote — or should be one politically — before Wal-Mart gets the go-ahead to build a supercenter at 83rd and Stewart.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” he said.
Pressed on whether he wants to re-live the City Council donnybrook that gave birth to the big-box minimum-wage ordinance he killed with his first-ever veto, Daley said, “I don’t know. I have no idea.”
That’s a brave thing to say.
Daley faces an all-or-nothing ultimatum like the once despoiler Mitch Schneider presented to then Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell over the Steelyard Commons despoilment: it’s Wal-Mart or nothing.
Since [city council imposed its restriction], the project has changed developers. Arcon has been unable to attract a second anchor tenant other than Wal-Mart, according to local Ald. Howard Brookins (21st).
I hope that Mayor Daley chooses the latter.
The people who live in that neighborhood probably view it differently than you guys do. It’s a “food desert.”
Shalom John,
First, thank you for stopping in, for reading and, most importantly, for taking the time to write a comment. It’s all about the conversation.
What you say is true. You’re absolutely right.
How much better would it be, however, if the neighborhod organized behind a local, community-owned, market to fill that food desert and keep the money in the community rather than allowing a busienss to suck the cash out of the city, the state, the country?
Wal-Mart is an easy out that does more damage than good in the long run. Communities need leadership with broader vision.
It’s a tougher task than building a big box, but it is vital.
B’shalom,
Jeff