It's a good time for large chain retailers in Chicago. First came Mayor Daley's veto two weeks ago of a city ordinance that would have forced big-box retailers to pay a higher minimum wage.
Today, the city got its first Wal-Mart. And it was met with a mob-like frenzy:
Lines snaked around the mega-retailer's West Side building long before it opened, packed with residents excited to welcome the store, its bargains and its jobs to the area. [...]
Nearly 16,000 people applied for the 450 jobs at the new store, where an estimated 98 percent of workers live in the neighborhood.
The residents who support the store think a minimum-wage job is better than no job, and they fear that the ordinance would have kept large retailers from locating in Chicago at all.
Given the overwhelming reception of the new store, it seems likely they'll have a lot of other big-box options in the not-too-distant future.
Photo via Flickr, from mjevans
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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