Following the defeat of 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke's proposal to impose an $11.03-an-hour wage on retail workers in stores that have received city subsidies, Mayor Daley lashed out at the public debate that has followed Wal-Mart's controversial plans to expand its business into the city. “These questions are not debated in the suburban area,” Daley said, waxing poetic on his favorite part of the region. “They are never even talked about.” Daley has said that he'd like to see a Wal-Mart open up in Chatham, but he wants to make sure there is agreement in the city council first. more ›

A new study recently released by researchers [via] at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola University Chicago shows that the opening of a Walmart in Chicago's Austin neighborhood has not increased retail activity or employment opportunities in the area. Walmart's expansion into urban areas has been controversial, and it's renewed attempts to open a second store on the city's South side has been surrounded with charges that the mega-retailer destroys small business and drives down wages. Supporters claim that there is an employment crisis in the black community and Walmart will bring hundreds of jobs to a neighborhood that desperately needs them. "What we're seeing here is that placing a Walmart in an urban setting is basically a wash in terms of sales revenue for the city and jobs for local residents," study co-author David Merriman, head of the UIC department of economics and professor of public administration said. "This means that communities around the city shouldn't see Walmart or other big-box retailers as a panacea for local economic problems." 37th Ward Alderman Emma Mitts disagreed with the study, saying on WTTW's Chicago Tonight that "people see what they want to see," and that she hadn't heard anyone in her community complaining. more ›

Stacked books, fired pages, it sounds like budget cut season has descended for Chicago-area libraries. Stocking books is a job that is usually left to library pages, but in mid-July, Mayor Richard Daley fired almost half of the 279 pages after the library employee union couldn’t agree on budget cuts. With fewer pages to help circulate books, upper-level library staff were forced to pick up the slack. The library cuts are only part of the ongoing battle between Daley and the city’s unions over projected pay cuts in order to help balance the budget. The librarians’ union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Teamsters union were the only two that didn’t take pay cuts, and thus 431 city employees were let go from both unions. more ›

Among the fallout from last year's economic meltdown was the virtual standstill of the credit market. With banks near insolvency and others unsure what would happen next, everyone from home and car buyers to small businesses to most of the American auto industry were unable to secure lines of credit for regular business purchases. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, (ARRA or "the stimulus") provided over $700 million to both waive fees and increase guarantees from the Small Business Administration. And according to an analysis by Crain's, it looks like it might be working. That's because government-backed loans to small businesses are running about 50 percent higher nationally now than they were in Februrary, before the bill was enacted. Among Chicago-area businesses, that number is even higher. more ›

Mayor Daley has tossed around the number $22.5 billion as the value of the economic boost the city of Chicago would receive if it hosts the 2016 Olympics. But some experts are saying that number is more Olympian dream than reality. Crain's talked to several experts about MayDay's projected boon for the city and the answers they came away with leave us a bit cold about hosting the games. more ›