Committee on License and Consumer Protection meeting, January 22, 2024
- When: Mon, Jan 22, 2024, 2:00 PM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on License and Consumer Protection
- Video: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/904237939
- Transcript: full text (16,076 words, official captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on License and Consumer Protection considered Alderperson Matthew J. O'Shea substitute ordinance regulating small box retailers, commonly called dollar stores, which would require contact placards at stores and impose a one-mile distance restriction between new stores under common ownership, with an exception for stores offering fresh food. Public commenters representing Dollar Tree and Family Dollar and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce objected to the zoning portion or the ordinance as a whole, and the Law Department said the matter was properly before the committee. Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper and Kennedy Smith of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance testified about dollar store saturation and food deserts. Many members described poor maintenance, staffing and safety at dollar stores in their wards, while some supported the maintenance provisions but objected to the distance restriction. The substitute ordinance passed by voice vote with Villegas, Cardona and Moore recorded as no, and an ordinance on ground transportation vehicles was referred to the Committee on Finance.
Topics: dollar stores, small box retailers, food deserts, distance restrictions, business maintenance, committee jurisdiction, grocery stores, ground transportation vehicles
Agenda items discussed
- 22:37 Substitute ordinance amending Titles 4 and 17 regarding small box retailers: passed
- 1:59:15 Ordinance regarding ground transportation vehicles, referred to the Committee on Finance (O2023-0004230)
Alderpersons who spoke
- Debra L. Silverstein (chair): Noted that the committee received two written public comments, from Dollar Tree Family Dollar and from the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. (22:16); Said she agreed with O'Shea and thanked him for bringing the ordinance to the committee. (1:58:30)
- Matthew J. O'Shea (alderperson): Said the ordinance addresses dollar store maintenance and their impact on commercial strips and food deserts, describing littered and broken sites and unreturned calls. (27:03); Said stores would have to post contact placards and that maintenance penalty enhancements were removed based on Dollar Tree commitments. (29:31); Said dollar stores undercut small businesses and grocers and that the ordinance imposes a one-mile distance between stores of common ownership. (30:35)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Asked for the Law Department to address the jurisdiction question raised by the commenter. (23:20); Asked the Law Department whether the ordinance is a zoning amendment and whether its parts could be separated. (57:37); Said dollar stores were not the reason grocery stores have not come to his communities and that removing them could leave residents with fewer options. (59:20)
- Gilbert Villegas (alderperson): Said dollar store companies have since committed staff and facility management to work with alderpersons and that he supports the concept but has concerns about the distance requirement. (54:31)
- Felix Cardona Jr. (alderperson): Described working with a corporate contact on store issues, said conditions had improved since the ordinance, and said he would vote no over the distance and square footage provisions. (1:02:20)
- Jeanette B. Taylor (alderperson): Described her daughters' experiences with robberies and safety while working at a Family Dollar and said the stores have not been good partners. (1:08:59); Asked for the number of complaints against dollar stores over four years and a map of where they are concentrated. (1:11:37); Asked for CPD data on how many times dollar stores have been robbed. (1:13:33)
- Ronnie L. Mosley (alderperson): Listed chronic problems at stores in the 21st Ward and said the company only responded after the ordinance was introduced. (1:14:59); Said the council had to be heavy-handed to bring the companies to the table. (1:17:39)
- Bennett R. Lawson (alderperson): Said maintenance and being a good neighbor are citywide issues and asked about scanner error lawsuits against dollar stores. (1:18:18)
- Silvana Tabares (alderperson): Said she agreed with the customer service requirement but asked why a one-mile distance was chosen and how it compares to tobacco restrictions. (1:24:41); Asked whether a special use permit approach could be used instead and how the ordinance would avoid worsening disinvestment. (1:29:24); Said the ordinance targets owners rather than behavior and asked the sponsor to hold it to work on a collaborative approach. (1:31:21)
- Michelle A. Harris (alderperson): Described unannounced corporate visits and filthy, understaffed stores in her ward and said her ward is saturated with dollar stores. (1:34:33); Said there must be accountability and that corporations should hear Black communities say the model is not working. (1:39:21)
- Derrick G. Curtis (alderperson): Said Dollar Tree has become the worst neighbor in his community and asked for the number of citations issued. (1:41:46); Asked for information on any agreement allowing Family Dollar to move into closed Walgreens locations. (1:43:42)
- Andre Vasquez Jr. (alderperson): Said the placard makes sense, requested a map of dollar stores overlaid with grocery stores, and said he would support the ordinance. (1:44:22); Asked whether creating separate LLCs or franchises could avoid the common ownership restriction. (1:46:27)
- Stephanie D. Coleman (alderperson): Said 80% of the 150 locations are in Black communities and that standards in Chicago stores should match the suburbs. (1:48:27); Asked the Tulsa councilor how the Oasis Fresh Market compares to other grocery stores. (1:50:58)
Exchanges between members
- 23:20 Moore asked the chair to have the Law Department address the jurisdiction question.
- 54:31 Villegas thanked O'Shea for bringing the ordinance forward while noting concerns about the distance.
- 1:00:12 Moore cited Curtis as able to describe a long-vacant grocery site in his ward.
- 1:02:10 Cardona thanked O'Shea for bringing the ordinance before saying he would vote no.
- 1:06:48 O'Shea responded to Cardona that they had discussed the ordinance several times and that it does not affect existing stores.
- 1:09:02 Taylor addressed O'Shea and said she still supports the ordinance.
- 1:12:41 O'Shea answered Taylor that the company is a Fortune 200 company.
- 1:13:15 Taylor said she appreciated Moore's help advocating for her daughters when they worked at a store in his ward.
- 1:14:35 Mosley thanked O'Shea for bringing a citywide standard.
- 1:18:21 Lawson told Taylor his ward has no dollar stores.
- 1:22:29 Tabares asked O'Shea whether Dollar Tree was invited to present.
- 1:22:44 O'Shea answered that he had meetings with Dollar Tree in recent months after years without response.
- 1:32:41 Tabares asked O'Shea to hold the ordinance to work on a collaborative solution.
- 1:33:08 O'Shea responded to Tabares's questions and declined to hold the ordinance.
- 1:40:11 Harris thanked O'Shea for starting a dialogue on dollar stores.
- 1:44:38 Vasquez thanked O'Shea, saying company outreach would not have happened without the ordinance.
- 1:47:51 Coleman thanked O'Shea for bringing the issue forward.
- 1:53:49 Silverstein told Moore he could ask one more question because he had already spoken.
- 1:58:30 Silverstein said she agreed with O'Shea and thanked him.