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Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a partnership with the Economic
Security Project last September, with the intention of opening a
municipally-owned grocery store. ESP supports public options as
alternatives to private companies.
ESP partnered with a firm called HR&A, which released a study
supporting the idea of city-owned stores.
Jason Proctor is the 33rd Ward Republican Committeeman and an
Illinois Senate candidate. He said there should be stores in
food deserts, but they should be owned and operated by
professional business people.
“Take a look at somebody like an Aldi, who is a trusted partner
down in those neighborhoods. I would rather leave it up to those
who’ve had success,” Proctor said.
Proctor wondered if there would be accountability with a
city-owned store.
“And therein lies the trick. Who others’ hands are in this pie?
Who are we using for vendors?” Proctor asked.
A statement from Johnson’s office suggested that the city would
pursue state funding through the Illinois Grocery Initiative,
which intends to address inadequate access to fresh foods. The
initiative provides $20 million of state taxpayer money to
support new and existing grocery stores in food deserts across
the state.
Proctor opposes the plan for a municipally-owned stores. He said
the city does not need to be owning stores, especially in a
business with very thin margins.
“You need to have an understanding of how operations work, how
employees should interact with the public. There’s a lot of
things that need to take place in order for it to be a success,
or just another throwing money at a problem that’s not going to
ultimately lead to a solution,” Proctor said.
Proctor suggested that city government address core problems
before opening stores. He said there’s a reason Walmart left
Chicago.
“None of those three stores had been profitable since the day
they opened up, and a big part of that is the theft and the
shrink,” Proctor said.
According to CWBChicago, shoplifting reports have soared 45%
this year, making 2024 the worst year for retail theft in the
city since at least 2003.
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