Chicago's first Wal-Mart brings $500K to Chicago in sales tax revenue in six months

One item to keep in mind about this story is that the West Side Chicago Wal-Mart was placed in an area with virtually no viable retail presence of any kind--so it's reasonable to state that the $500,000 is new revenue for Chicago. Chicago's chief Wal-Mart foe, Alderman Joe Moore, will never understand, of course.

From NBC 5 Chicago:

Chicago's first Wal-Mart store has shown impressive numbers in the Austin neighborhood in its first six months with nearly $2 million in new tax revenue and more than 440 jobs, according to a release from 37th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts Wednesday.

In a press conference Wednesday morning at City Hall, Mitts announced that the store has generated more than $500,000 alone in new sales tax to the City of Chicago alone, the release said. The store’s presence has generated a total of more than $2 million in tax revenue for the city, county, state and the RTA.

The store, at 4650 West North Ave., employs 443 new associates with more than half of the employees residents of Mitts’ West Side ward, the release said. The store's staff is 77 percent African American, and 17 percent are Hispanic.

Related post: Big-box shy Chicago facing "food desert"

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