Wal-Mart certainly raised the stakes this week in its bid to open a second store in the city. But the results of the push-poll notwithstanding, setting up shop in Chatham may not be the slam dunk the Arkansas-based mega-retailer thinks it will be. That's because, as the city council was passing the buck on the Wal-Mart vote by sending it from the Rules Committee to the Finance Committee, committee chair Alderman Ed Burke (of the 14th Ward) told the Sun-Times that Wal-Mart would have to step up to the plate to play ball in Chicago. more ›

It seems like the controversy over Wal-Mart's attempts to open a second store in Chicago won't go away. And it seems like the massive retailer is helping to fan the flames of contention. From the Chicagoist tipline: "I just got what I think was a 'push-poll' about building a Wal-Mart at 83rd & Stewart. Basically, it only asked one question (a true sign of a political push-poll) and was heavily weighted in language towards Wal-Mart and Mayor Daley. It was something similar to the following: 'Mayor Daley says that a Wal-Mart at 83rd & Stewart would bring 400+ jobs to the city and make fresh food available to the neighborhood; others believe jobs are not enough. Press 1 if you believe a Wal-Mart should be allowed to be built or Press 2 if you believe it should not." A quick check of the phone number the calls are originating from - and a check of that tipline inbox - indicated that quite a few Chicagoans got the same call, as well. more ›