Walmart Said to Benefit Chicago

A report by a Chicago alderman showed that the city’s only Walmart store has generated $10.3 million in sales tax revenue in its first two years. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, $5.3 million of that came in the store’s second year, and half of that amount benefited the city, Regional Transportation Authority and Cook County.

“Walmart has proven to be an incredible economic engine for the West Side of Chicago,” said alderman Emma Mitts. The store opened in her ward in the city’s Austin neighborhood in 2006.

According to Crain’s, the report revives an ongoing battle over whether the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant should be allowed to open more stores in the city. So far, that idea has been met with much resistance from unions and some aldermen. In March, the city rejected a proposal to open a Walmart store in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. At the time, Arnold Randall, the city’s planning and development commissioner, said the original proposal for the development hadn’t included a Walmart store. In order to reverse the council’s decision, he said Walmart would have to go back to the council.

Alderman Howard Brookins told Crain’s he plans to introduce a measure next year that would revive the push for a store in Chatham. “I’m more committed to this project than ever,” he said, adding that the city needs the store more than ever as Walmart is one of the few retailers generating sales amid the economic slowdown. “We really have to rethink our position on Walmart,” he said. With unemployment on the rise, “jobs are at a premium. This would be a significant economic stimulus for the community.”