Saturday, June 13, 2020

I don't want to hear one more word about "food deserts"

Wall Street Journal: "Chicago’s Walmart Plea" - "After the riots, the city begs the company it once shunned to stay."
Walmart spent years fighting local politicians to build new stores in Chicago, and it finally won approval in 2010 after paying off unions and liberal groups with a “community benefits agreement.” It now ranks among the largest employers in Chicago’s heavily minority south and west sides and throws off hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for state and city politicians to spend. But after last week’s riots, Walmart seems to be having second thoughts about business in Chicago. 
Many large retailers including Walmart, Walgreens and Target had their stores heavily damaged and looted in the riots. During a conference call last week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot begged them not to bail on the city. Walmart wouldn’t commit to reopening damaged stores. “We are assessing each location to understand our ability to do that,” a Walmart representative said.
Sounds like it's Walmart's turn to shake down Chicago.

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