The markets will serve the west side as part of the mayor's plan to improve access to fresh food. Also part of the plan? A whole mess o' Wal-Marts. more ›

Wasn't it nearly a year ago that Lakeview residents reacted to the news that WalMart was looking at a store in your neighborhood with sturm und drang? Welcome to now. more ›

The Chicago City Council declared Nov. 25 - Dec. 4 "Buy Local First Week." more ›

The store, whose construction was announced in February, is WalMart's first grocery-centric "neighborhood market" in Illinois. more ›

WalMart's plan for up to two dozen new stores in Chicago took its first real step today with the opening of a new WalMart Express store in the Chatham Market on the South side. more ›

Curbed Chicago is reporting that Wal-Mart's is considering a second location in Lakeview. more ›

River North, you're getting a Wal-Mart. more ›

Today in the saga of Wal-Mart and its plan to assimilate Chicago neighborhoods like the Borg turned Captain Picard into Locutus: 1st Ward Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno said he "emphatically" told the big box retailer he doesn't think a proposed store in Logan Square would be a good fit for his ward. more ›

So how did Wal-Mart's meeting with concerned Lakeview residents Monday night go? About as well as can be expected. more ›

WalMart representatives are taking their pitch for a Lakeview location directly to the people who don't want one at tonight's meeting of the South East Lake View Neighbors general meeting. The SELVN is also expected to vote on a measure supporting or rejecting a move by 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney to downzone the building at Broadway and Surf that has been suspected for months of being a possible location for a WalMart in the neighborhood. Bruce Alan Beal, founder of the Stop the Lakeview Lincoln Park WalMart Facebook page, wrote to members of that group, "This meeting will be your first and probably only chance to directly express your concerns to Walmart corporate reps, assuming they show up." more ›

Margaret Garner was paraded across the country by Wal-Mart as its first Black female general contractor to build a supercenter. She was also the contractor for the City of Chicago’s first Wal-Mart location. Six years later her company is bankrupt due to the cost overruns, Crain's reports. more ›

Now that we're done congratulating ourselves with the "Little Hawaii" post that many of you bought into hook, line and sinker yesterday, we want to hip you to what we thought was the most plausible April Fool's Day prank of the day, which probably had more than a fair share of 49th Ward residents shouting, "WTF?!?!?!" when they received it in their email, Below is a screengrab from Rogerspark.com. more ›

The largest sexual discrimination case in the history of the United States will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court starting March 29, the Tribune reports. Wal-Mart v. Dukes has grown into a class action lawsuit that has struck out at the circuit and appellate court level. The defendants lawyer is trying to win back pay for a million women by claiming the retail giant had a companywide culture of sexual discrimination. Wal-Mart's lawyers point out that the suit speaks for more women than the combined totals of active duty personnel in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marines Navy and Coast Guard. more ›

All Wal-Mart needs to to is build one store and they'll multiply like rabbits. Mayor Daley announced plans for two Wal-Marts on the South Side yesterday. Plans are for a Wal-Mart "Neighborhood Express" store to be built at 76th and Ashland and a Wal-Mart Express convenience store at 71st and Western similar to the one planned for Chatham at 83rd and Stewart. more ›

The battle for a Wal-Mart seems to be reaching its endgame with the news that the world's largest retailer will open a "Wal-Mart Express" store in the Chatham Market at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue. The planned 10,000 square-foot store will focus on selling "convenience-minded" foodstuffs. more ›

While Lakeview residents are up in arms about the possibility of a WalMart in their neighborhood, The Tribune is reporting that the world's largest retailer is opening a small-scale store in the Presidential Towers complex in the West Loop. more ›

Looks like Borders closing most of their stores in Chicago is fueling speculation that Walmart may be eyeing those spaces in their plan to open 24 stores in the city. Bruce Beal, who organized one of many opposition groups the last time WalMart was looking at a Lakeview location, says he has a "reliable source" that the retail giant is now targeting the soon-to-shutter Borders in Lakeview, just steps down from the proposed store that was supposed to go into the old Petsmart. We contacted Beal via Facebook to see if he would divulge any more information regarding the source. Beal replied that he needed to do more footwork to conifrm his source's claim that WalMart has renewed its interest in opening a Lakeview store. more ›

Yesterday on Fox News Chicago's "Good Day Chicago," consultant Thom Serafin discussed the problems facing the proposed state income tax hike. Near the 2:45 point in the video below, anchor Corey McPherrin asks Serafin about his take on Congressman Luis Gutierrez's endorsement of Gery Chico for Mayor. Serafin said that the Gutierrez endorsement was a "good thing." What Serafin failed to disclose, as per Early and Often's daily "Palm Card" e-mail, was that Chico's spokeswoman, Brooke Anderson, Brooke Anderson, came to the campaign from Serafin's public relations firm. more ›

Interesting little note from former Chicagoisto Hunter Clauss over at Chicago News Co-Op about how veteran political consultant Delmarie Cobb is endorsing 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale for reelection, despite their diametrically opposite views about having a Wal-Mart in the Roseland neighborhood. more ›

Wal-Mart executives reached out to 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney to ensure him that they have not signed a intent to lease space in the Broadway on Surf building for a smaller neighborhood box-store concept. more ›

Wow, Lakeview, a lot of you really don't want a Wal-Mart, do ya? more ›

Wal-Mart: it isn't just for Austin and Chatham anymore. Chicago Real Estate Daily reports that the retail superpower has signed a letter of intent to lease space for a planned small-box store at 2840 N. Broadway. That's the Broadway on Surf retail space that currently lists as tenants mom and pop stores Cost Plus World Market, TJ Maxx and Bed, Bath & Beyond. The space used to house a Petsmart and has advertised 30,000 square-feet in retail space available for rent. more ›

Thanks to the magic of pop-up ads, Chicagoist discovered Wal-Mart's foray into electoral politics this morning. Walmart Community Votes "is dedicated to providing you with the resources, tools, and information to help you make that decision - in a non-partisan and objective format," by connecting users with information on where and how to vote, as well as links to who the elected officials in a given area are, and who the candidates in a given race are. The site isn't very profound as far as content goes - they've only offered printed responses to a questionnaire sent to the two major-party candidates in Illinois. What's more, it appears that only Mark Kirk filled out the questionnaire. more ›

Walmart's CEO offered details of the plans the world's largest retailer has for Chicago earlier this week. The plans include up to 24 stores in the city, with three different size levels of store, depending on neighborhood. more ›

With the city's budget deficit growing and crime a hot topic, we were wondering if we'd get any answers from Mayor Daley yesterday in his annual State of the City speech. We got one, alright, even if it was indirect and we need look no further than this morning's headlines to find it: more ›

With the wheels of local government all greased up after churning the proposal for a Wal-Mart in Pullman Park through, the City Council today gave the thumbs up for a third store in the city set to go up in Chatham by a vote of 45-4. According to the Sun-Times, Aldermen Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Ricardo Munoz (22nd), Eugene Schulter (47th) and Joe Moore (49th) were the 'no' votes. more ›

• The City Council Transportation Committee O.K.'d a plan to allow companies to display holiday-themed displays on bridge houses even if specifics like the actual size of the displays haven't yet been determined.
• Cocaine and PCP were found in the bloodstream of a local one-year-old boy after he apparently chewed on a piece of tinfoil laced with the drugs.
• While flooding clean-up continues here, our neighbors to the north in Milwaukee are facing their own post-flooding hardships.

Now why are you still reading this? Get on over to our meet-up at Goose Island Clybourn! more ›

By a unanimous vote, the Chicago City Council today approved a proposal for the city's second Wal-Mart to be built in the Pullman Park commercial development on the city's South Side. The approval comes after lengthy negotiations between the retail giant and labor leaders that created an agreement on living wages for workers at the new store, though the agreement only applies to this new store and not future Wal-Marts. The unanimous vote meant that several typically pro-union aldermen voted for approval with trepidation. From the Tribune's Clout Street: more ›

The Chicago Federation of Labor announced a deal earlier this morning with Wal-Mart that would clear the way for a new store at Pullman Park. The deal, which would only apply to the new store and not other future stores, will pay new workers at least $8.75/hour, a rate that will be bumped to $9.50/hour for workers after they've been at the store for a year. Wal-Mart also agreed to hire union workers to build the Pullman Park stores as well as stores throughout Northeast Illinois. Ald. Danny Soliz (25th), chairman of the Chicago City Council's zoning committee, indicated the deal would mean today's vote on the store would go forward as planned as opposed to another delay. more ›