Chicago's City Council passed a landmark ordinance yesterday that requires big-box stores to pay a minimum wage of $10 per hour by 2010 plus $3 an hour worth of benefits.
Supporters of this bill have been drafting it for over 2 years now since Wal-Mart decided to open its first store by 2006 in Chicago's Austin ward, a predominantly poor ward. This bill states that minimum wages would rise to $9.25 in 2007 and to $10 in 2010 with benefits totaling $1.50 an hour and $3.00 respectively and will be indexed to inflation after that time period.
While this is good news to local workers, the mayor is against this measure and could still veto it. What's more, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association has publicly stated it is against this bill and will likely challenge it in court. The Merchants Association states that this bill will be counter-productive and will ultimately hinder retail growth in Chicago.
This bill would affect 35 stores already in Chicago and targets those stores over 90,000 square feet and are part of companies grossing more than $1 billion annually.
FULL STORY: Chicago Orders ‘Big Box’ Stores to Raise Wage

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie