Since the ordinance was approved by the Council last month, Wal-Mart, Target, and Lowes have shown their disapproval by halting plans to expand in Chicago.
Santa Fe Mayor David Coss explained that his city's big box ordinance has not scared off retailers.
However, Mayor Richard Daley, who vehemently opposes the ordinance, and a few alderman scoffed at Coss' New Mexico example, as CBS 2 Chicago reports:
They have a population of 68,000 people. We have a population almost 3 million people, and in the metropolitan area we have a population of 9 million people," Daley said.
Daley adds that Santa Fe does not face the competition posed by Chicago's surrounding suburbs.
The Chicago region is the nation's third largest metropolitan area, Santa Fe and its suburbs rank at 268th.
NBC 5 reports this comment from ordinance opponent Ald Bernard Stone:
Of course, Santa Fe is not exactly the same as Chicago. Santa Fe is about the size of one of our wards. So, it's really hard to compare Santa Fe to the city of Chicago.
San Francisco City Supervisor Tom Ammiano also spoke of his city's big-box-living-wage-ordinance. San Francisco is an insanely expensive city. Ammiano comes to Chicago pounding on his chest about a Home Depot pays its employees $10.75 an hour. Are there other SF big boxes? (I need Third Wave Dave's help here.) Also, San Francisco has Chicago-like sprawl, but it's located at the end of a narrow peninsula.
Apples and oranges, again.
Oh, did Ammiano and Coss pay their own fares to fly to Chicago? Just wondering.
And finally, CBS 2 Chicago has a great video showing Daley going nuts on his opinion on the ordinance. Entertaining, yes. But he makes some good points too.
Technorati tags: Illinois business retail big box target Wal-Mart Lowe/'s Chicago New Mexico Santa Fe San Francisco
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