Thursday, November 19, 2009

Progress IL: Lyle Slams Proposed Wal-Mart Expansion

As part of a broader post regarding the activities of the Chicago City Council:
Later in the meeting, one of City Hall's most reliable critics of Wal-Mart's race to the bottom, Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th Ward), went toe-to-toe with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Roper yesterday over the mega-retailer's push to open additional stores in Chicago. The common refrain from pro-business groups like the Chamber has been that the South Side is lucky to attract any new jobs in this economy and that the community is starved for low-cost retailers.

Lyle isn't so sure.  "We have been taught as a people in the past 20 or 30 years that we're just consumers and all we should be looking for is the lowest price. But we're not just consumers," she said. "We're citizens, we're parents, and hopefully, we're taxpayers ... While I want the lowest price, I don't want to do it at a cost of impoverishing my neighbor." 

Listen (you should be able to listen via Windows Media, Quicktime, or Real Player for example-Levois)

Lyle's remarks came after several other aldermen questioned Roper about Wal-Mart without bringing up the issue of wages.
After you listen to her audio comments, what do you think about her comments? Do you agree or disagree? Could a Wal-Mart only impoverish a neighbor?

1 comment:

  1. thank you ald. lyle, please keep fighting for williams land scape, TNT barber shop, chatham foods, majestic florist and all the garment stores on 79th

    ReplyDelete

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