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.
Read the full story: Chicago Orders ‘Big Box’ Stores to Raise Wage
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review
Amtrak plans to move their Chicago maintenance facility from an industrial area to a residential one.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority