A survey conducted by the Chicago office of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association shows Rahm Emanuel holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Of the 2,255 likely voters surveyed, 39 percent chose Emanuel over Carol Moseley Braun at 12.33 percent. more ›

The Illinois Beverage Association is really, really not psyched about the 5-cent tax on bottled water effective January 1. They're teaming with the American Beverage Association, the International Bottled Water Association, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and the Illinois Food Retailers Association to sue the City once the law goes into effect. Oh, and they've sent out a press release every day for the last week to remind us all how unhappy they are about the tax, how fucked up it, how unfair, etc. Looks like all that hard work paid off because today's Trib has a story that effectively backs the IBA and their co-plaintiffs by taking a completely uncritical look at their claims. more ›

The State House passed legislation on Tuesday designed to bring Illinois into compliance with a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling by limiting the amount of sales an Illinois winery can directly ship to a customer to 12 cases a year. The 5-4 decision in Granholm v. Heald ruled that laws in Michigan and New York permitting the direct sale and shipping of wine produced in state to customers while prohibiting out-of-state wineries from doing the... more ›

It’s official. Big-box stores will have to pay a higher minimum wage and benefits to Chicago employees. After more than three hours of debate yesterday, the City Council voted 35-14 to approve the hotly contested big-box measure. Stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot and Costco will be affected by the new ordinance, as well as certain department store locations. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association is expected to fight the measure in court, claiming it... more ›

A Bridgeport alderman wants to ban 40s in Chicago. more ›