After unanimously approving a second Wal-Mart store for Chicago last week, the City Council is facing another decision on a third store. City Alderman Joe Moore want a legally binding wage agreement from Wal-Mart, saying that they had an oral agreement with the company that would pay workers 50 cents more than minimum wage in Illinois. A spokesman for Wal-Mart would not say if the company had agreed to a starting wage. Two alderman are needed to deter a vote on the third store, and Moore believes that he can find someone else to support him. The Mayor has urged the City Council to approve the third store, and if they do not, he is authorized to approve the store himself. Moore says that he wants to assess the impact of the second store before approving any more stores.
See "Third Chicago Wal-Mart May Snag on Wages for Workers", Leslie Patton, Business Week, July 27, 2010