By Steve Rhodes
Who says Mayor Daley has lost control of the City Council? His veto of the big-box ordinance has turned at least a few aldermen back into the quivering cowards we always knew they were.
Pay The Man, Shirley
Ald. Shirley Coleman (16th) never realized during all the heated, drawn-out debate about the big-box ordinance that such a law could cost her ward jobs until after she voted in favor of the ordinance and Wal-Mart came calling to reveal that its secret plan to build a store in Englewood had now been scuttled.
Coleman, who is also a reverend, suddenly saw the light. It was almost as if God spoke to her.
Coleman is now among several aldermen who will change their vote in order for the mayor’s veto to survive a council override.
The council’s original vote in favor of the ordinance was an overwhelming 35-14.
What Would A Real Alderman Do?
“I haven’t got a commitment in writing from [Wal-Mart],” Coleman said.
Apparently, she’s acting on faith.
What Would Daley Do?
It’s almost as if God spoke to Ald. George Cardenas (12th), too.
“[C]ardenas, who voted in favor of the measure but signaled a possible switch shortly afterward, said he also would join with Daley,” the Tribune reports.
“He said he changed sides on the issue after the mayor spoke to him about the ordinance.
“‘My decision is based on Mayor Daley’s track record,’ Cardenas said in a statement. ‘Chicago has never looked better.’
“Cardenas, a freshman alderman elected with the backing of the pro-Daley Hispanic Democratic Organization, said the ordinance would harm ‘the very people unions are trying to help.'”
So let’s get this straight: George Cardenas is basing his vote on a wage ordinance on how pretty the mayor’s flowers are? And will he defer all future votes to Daley as well due to the mayor’s “track record”? And at just what point in the debate did Cardenas realize that he thought the ordinance would hurt working people? The point where Daley pointed out to Cardenas that the person whose employment was most in jeopardy was Cardenas?
What Would Danny Do?
Ald. Danny Solis (25th) has also seen the light and will switch his vote.
Will the council also, then, repeal the salary increases they voted for themselves along with the cover of the big-box ordinance? Or perhaps they think they deserve a raise for all the extra work they do now that they research issues and decide where they stand after voting on them, as well as before. After all, their workload seems to have doubled.
Or maybe the fix was in from the start.
What Will Voters Do?
“[D]aley is apparently determined to present a show of force and avoid hanging just a few aldermen out to dry for unions to target,” the Sun-Times said in its report. “On Monday he was reportedly lobbying Aldermen Ray Suarez (31st), John Pope (10th), Ariel Reboyras (30th) and Pat O’Connor (40th).”
Instead, Daley wants to hang a lot of aldermen out to dry.
What Do Voters Want?
Richard M. Daley: Man of the People.
What Will Jackie Say Next?
“Mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard said [Jesse Jackson Jr.’s] support for the big-box ordinance was ‘completely understandable’ because ‘much of the area he represents is in the suburbs, which stand to gain greatly’ if the ordinance stands,” the Sun-Times report said.
The paper did not report whether she said this with a straight face, or whether she went from directly making that statement to picking up this week’s share of her taxpayer-funded $135,516 annual salary.
That’s What The Sun-Times Would Say
The Sun-Times continued its campaign against the big-box ordinance by noting once again without any actual reporting that “Wal-Marts A Hit In Suburbs” in an addendum to its report, as well as publishing a chart showing projected sales tax revenues we could expect from each big box.
The paper conveniently ignored a recent U.S. House committee report that found that each Wal-Mart store costs taxpayers on average $420,750 annually in public social services sought by workers whose low wages and lack of adequate health insurance land them in the ranks of the working poor.
What Will The Council Do Next?
“We are going to write another ordinance,” Ald. Fredrenna Lyle (6th) said, according to the Tribune‘s report.
“Since everybody was complaining that this would only attack (big-box retailers), maybe we will go ahead and go after everybody this time and say everybody has to pay (a higher minimum wage),” Lyle said.
Maybe that’s what the City Council should have done in the first place.
Posted on September 12, 2006