Ald. Joe Moore faces the voters Tuesday: UPDATED

I'm a frequent critic of Ald. Joe Moore of Chicago's 49th Ward. He's up for re-election Tuesday, and his three opponents are not impressed that he was he was named Wal-Mart Watch's Person of the Week last year.

The Chicago Tribune (free registration required) has a profile of the race.

From the Tribune:

Moore said his global approach to the job prompted him to sponsor a proposal that would have mandated a minimum of $13 per hour in wages and benefits for employees of "big-box" stores, such as Wal-Mart.

"Having people earning living wages, enough to support their families, would have a direct impact on my community, lowering crime, giving working parents an opportunity to spend more time with their kids," Moore said.

But for Moore's three challengers--Chris Adams, Jim Ginderske and Don Gordon--such legislation illustrates that Moore is interested in anything except what goes on in his own turf.

"We don't have stores to shop at here, we still have crime problems, our affordable housing is disappearing and this guy is introducing legislation for ducks," said Gordon, who left his job as a systems development director at a local bank to run against Moore.

Gordon is referring to the Moore sponsored legistlation that banned the duck liver delicacy foie gras from the city, a bill Mayor Richard Daley called "the silliest law the City Council has ever passed."

Until 1999, I lived in Moore's ward. Although not quite a "food desert," there is definitely a shortage of decent and affordable places to shop in Moore's ward. Howard Street, however, has plenty of pawn shops.

But Moore is busy trying to keep Wal-Mart out of Chicago--along with foie gras.

For more on Chicago's 49th Ward and Joe Moore, visit friend of the blog, Rogers Park Bench.

UPDATE 4:00 PM CST: Thomas over at Rogers Park Rake has a story about ex-cons being forced to collect petition signatures--without pay--for Joe Moore's re-election campaign. Well, in Moore's eyes, it's better they "work" this way--as opposed to being employed by Wal-Mart. Hey, if they're not paid, how can they sneak into Evanston and buy some foie gras?

Related post: Ald. Joe Moore, retail genius

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