CHICAGO-In a move that coincides with a pending City Council decision on a new store in the Pullman neighborhood, Walmart has said it wants to build “several dozen” stores in the city, and promises to bring in about 12,000 jobs and $500 million in taxes with those new locations. On Wednesday, the council will consider a new 150,000-square foot Walmart in a new Pullman Park mixed-use development on the former Ryerson Inc. steel plant on the Far South Side.

Union strength has done well to keep Walmart from taking much of a hold in the city, with claims that the giant retailer does not pay its workers enough. However, as the city has faced the loss of thousands of jobs, politicians are warming to companies that can promise to bring in jobs and tax dollars.

Ald. Anthony Beale of the Ninth Ward, which includes the Pullman neighborhood, has championed the new store. “Our city is facing a number of challenges, but most of all, we need good jobs,” he said in a statement.