Wal-Mart Expands Lobbying Effort in Chicago
By Kevin Robinson in News on Apr 26, 2010 2:00PM
In a bid to push forward with it's plans for as many as 20 stores in the city of Chicago, Wal-Mart has brought in two locals to help "tell the Wal-Mart story,” Wal-Mart spokesman Steven V. Restivo told the Chicago News Cooperative. Timothy Dart, brother of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, a veteran lobbyist at City Hall, will work on key decision makers in the city, and Gyata Kimmons, who worked in Daley's influential Intergovernmental Affairs office and served as director of community relations as part of the city's unsuccessful bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, will lobby aldermen and the mayor. No word yet on whether Kimmons, who is now a Wal-Mart employee, will be locked in City Hall to restock shelves overnight.
Earlier this month the city Plan Commission approved a proposal to develop a parcel of industrial land in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood, set to include a new Super Wal-Mart. The city council is set to vote on that proposal on May 7.