Ordinance in Chicago requiring "big box" stores to pay higher wages passes
{{date|August 3, 2006}}

The [[w:Chicago|Chicago]] city council passed an ordinance on Wednesday a week ago that requires retailers such as [[w:Target|Target]], [[w:Home Depot|Home Depot]], and other [[w:Big-box store|big box-store]] operations to pay a higher wage than the state minimum and offer benefits to their employees within Chicago city limits. The mayor of Chicago, [[w:Richard Daley|Richard M. Daley]], opposes the ordinance, though he has yet to state whether or not he intends to exercise his veto power. Because of the ordinance, Target has already put on hold the building of one store in Chicago's south side and other new developments are in jeopardy. 

The ordinance applies to stores of at least 90,000 square feet operated by companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales. Starting in July of 2007, employees of these stores have a minimum wage $9.25 per hour and $1.50 per hour in benefits. By 2010, this will rise to $10 and $3, respectively. After 2010, the increases will be tied to the cost of living.

The current state mandated minimum hourly wage rate is $6.50 for an Illinois employee. 

==Sources==
{{wikipediapar|Minimum wage}}
{{wikipediapar|Price floor}}

*{{source|
  author=|
  url=http://www.nbc5.com/news/9580934/detail.html|
  title=Chicago City Council Approves 'Big-Box' Ordinance|
  pub=Associated Press|
  date=July 26, 2006}}

*{{source|
  url=http://suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bigbox03.html|
  title=Boxed out: Target says forget it|
  author=Fran Speilman|
  pub=Chicago Sun Times|
  date=August 3, 2006}}

*{{source|
  url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-060803bigbox,1,5385694.story?ctrack=1&cset=true|
  title=‘Big-Box’ ordinance puts new Target on hold|
  author=Gary Washburn|
  pub=Chicago Tribune|
  date=August 3, 2006}}

*{{source|url=http://blog.mises.org/archives/005386.asp
|title=Chicago Mandates a "Living Wage"
|author=Ryan McMaken
|pub=Ludwig von Mises Institute
|date=27 July 2006}}

*{{source|url=http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm 
|title=Minimum Wage Laws In States
|author=
|pub=U.S. Department of Labor
|date= April 3, 2006}}

[[Category:Illinois]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Economy_and_business]]

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{{Archive-unreviewed}}
The Chicago city council passed an ordinance on Wednesday a week ago that requires retailers such as Target, Home Depot, and other big box-store operations to pay a higher wage than the state minimum and offer benefits to their employees within Chicago city limits. The mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley, opposes the ordinance, though he has yet to state whether or not he intends to exercise his veto power. Because of the ordinance, Target has already put on hold the building of one store in Chicago's south side and other new developments are in jeopardy. 

The ordinance applies to stores of at least 90,000 square feet operated by companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales. Starting in July of 2007, employees of these stores have a minimum wage $9.25 per hour and $1.50 per hour in benefits. By 2010, this will rise to $10 and $3, respectively. After 2010, the increases will be tied to the cost of living.

The current state mandated minimum hourly wage rate is $6.50 for an Illinois employee. 

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Illinois United States North America Economy_and_business