Does Chicago law say that the final decision is up to the unfettered discretion of the alderman? Can he deny a permit to a Republican political group because they're Republican? Or is it merely "how things are done"?

I'm not really sure. From what I've read, an alderman can do that. Not sure if it's just a "how things are done" issue.

I am somewhat conflicted about this, so hearing other views is good.

This reminds me of an issue when I lived in San Francisco back in '94-'95. There was some controversy on whether the city could prevent fast-food places from opening on Upper Haight (that's the West end, right?) Some people thought fast-food places would harm the character of the neighborhood.

Anyone know what happened with this?

TCG said that in MA the best Boston could do is make life difficult for a business to get the necessary permits and such and even that would open them up to potential lawsuits.

Anyone know what happened with this?

Are you referring to the McDonalds right at the corner of Haight and Stanyan where the Haight begins?

Generally, though, there've been successful efforts to kill off or quell chains that are deemed economically predatory to local businesses. I know that in the 90s Le Video (9th and Irving) successfully fought to prevent a Blockbuster from opening in the neighborhood. Similarly, I know that in Noe Valley there was a successful effort by local salons to stop Super Cuts from opening on the main drag.

It's not automatic, but there are rules in place against Big Box stores from opening within the city limits and local neighborhood groups have been very successful about pushing chains out of local neighborhoods and towards downtown/tourist zones.

There have also been some successful fights against Starbucks in places which have established local cafes.

Are you referring to the McDonalds right at the corner of Haight and Stanyan where the Haight begins?

No, that was already there. The controversy was over another fast-food place (or maybe another McDonalds) that wanted to open further East on Haight.

In my old neighborhood, there were a million drug stores, and then a CVS replaced one of the few grocery stores. There were pickets out front for weeks, and the one time I went in there, I was the only customer. They moved out within the year. Community action! [link]

No, that was already there. The controversy was over another fast-food place (or maybe another McDonalds) that wanted to open further East on Haight.

No other chains opened.

When Walgreens tried to open a store on Haight Street it was burned to the ground and they decided to go elsewhere.

Pretty strong local resistance to chains on the major commercial strips in neighborhoods throughout the City.

At this point, there's a much stronger understanding of what Buying Local means to a community.

People have seen the numbers and understand how chains funnel money out of a community whereas local stores plow money back into a community.

When Walgreens tried to open a store on Haight Street it was burned to the ground and they decided to go elsewhere.

That makes me miss San Francisco.

OK, maybe not the "burning of private property" part....

We have a big community kerfluffle over a CVS in my town. It's already there, but the company wants to move the store from its current location into another spot a block away and expand to two- or three-times it's current size.

Traffic and parking in that area are already tight, and many people are of the opinion that this move and expansion won't help. The building where the company wants to move has been vacant for a couple of years, so it's not exactly bringing value to the area. But I live in a wee, hippie town that put two 12+ paragraph articles in the newspaper when a favorite tree was hit by lightning; this community--at least the louder elements thereof--is not always on the side of corporate interests.

Anyway, we had a small contingent of Occupy people come in to occupy the would-be CVS site (later they were removed by police), and we had guerrilla gardeners come in to plant flowers and vegetables in any spots of dirt not cordoned off by the post-occupation chain link fence. There are regular letters to the editor and newspaper articles about it and "No CVS" yard signs in people's yards. It's pretty much the drama of the year for my town.

Now I sort of want to see the CVS people sell the property to Chick-fil-a, just to see if an actual torch-bearing mob would form. The torches might have to be LED-based--CO2, you know.