Daley Calls For Tax Break For New Costco
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Richard M. Daley is proposing a lucrative property tax break to make way for the second Costco store within the Chicago city limits.
The store would be on the Near West Side, at 14th Street and Ashland Avenue. It is expected to create 600 construction jobs, 125 full-time jobs, and 125 part-time positions.
The move to give the store a tax break to locate in the city could set a precedent for Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers.
Wal-Mart has been looking to expand in Chicago for several years. Since 2006, there has only been one Wal-Mart in the city, at North and Kilpatrick avenues, but an agreement with unions to set starting wages at $8.75 per hour set the stage for expansion. Plans have been approved for Wal-Mart stores at 111th Street and the Bishop Ford Freeway, and at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue. Corporate officials say "several dozen" more Wal-Mart stores are planned.
Currently, the only Costco store operating in the city is at 2746 N. Clybourn Ave., across from the Lathrop Homes public housing development. Costco also has stores in Bedford Park, Bloomingdale, Bolingbrook, Glenview, Lake in the Hills, Lake Zurich, Melrose Park, Mettawa, Naperville, Niles, Oak Brook, Orland Park, Schaumburg and St. Charles.
