Clout Street — Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration should take more action to combat Chicago's food deserts and focus less on issuing news releases touting progress on the issue, aldermen said Wednesday.
That advice came in response to a Tribune story that showed Emanuel's efforts to shrink the city's food deserts have fallen short of what he has announced.
Ald. Carrie Austin, 34th, said the time has come for Emanuel to "come with the hammer" on grocery store chains that haven't lived up to pledges to open stores in underserved areas of the city like her Far South Side ward.
The Tribune reported Wednesday that of the 56 new and expanded food desert stores Emanuel announced in 2011, 10 had opened. That included six of the 39 food desert stores Walgreen Co. said it would expand to offer fresh fruits and vegetables by this June and four of 17 new grocery stores the mayor had announced.
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