Posted by John Byrne at 8:53 p.m.
A hearing will be delayed until next month on the controversial plan for a Wal-Mart store on the Far South Side, the chairman of the City Council’s Zoning Committee said today.
Ald. Daniel Solis, 25th, said he will hold a special meeting on the Wal-Mart proposed for the Pullman neighborhood in time for it to be included on the City Council’s May 12 agenda if it receives enough votes in the committee.
But Solis decided not to consider the issue at Thursday’s Zoning Committee meeting in large part because he predicts a big crowd to turn out to testify both for and against allowing the second Wal-Mart inside Chicago city limits.
"We expect it could take some time, and I wanted to make sure to give ample time to hear from everyone involved," he said. "It’s about the logistics."
A handful of aldermen also asked him to reschedule because they won’t be able to make it to Thursday’s meeting, yet want to cast votes on the contentious issue.
"We’re polling aldermen now to see if May 5 or May 7 works better" as a new date for the Wal-Mart hearing, Solis said.
Some local labor unions have pushed hard against Wal-Mart, arguing the giant retailer should provide “meaningful employment,” including higher wages.
Aldermen allied with the unions recently introduced an ordinance mandating any large retailer that receives direct or indirect city financial aid pay employees more than $11 an hour.
Wal-Mart has not sought a subsidy, but other parts of the mixed-use Pullman project have.
Solis said labor leaders urged him not to hold a hearing before May 12 on the proposed development, which was recently approved by the city Plan Commission.
"I think they feel like they need more time to get Wal-Mart to the negotiating table," Solis said. "But from my perspective, the important thing is to give the plan a proper hearing as promptly as we can."
Jorge Ramirez, secretary treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor, confirmed that he asked Solis to hold off until Wal-Mart representatives agreed to sit down and discuss the issue.