I was at our neighborhood Target a few weeks ago to buy my daughter's school supplies. As we searched for a REALLY big box of pencils (the list called for 200 Ticonderoga brand which only seemed to come in pricey packs of 10), I couldn't help but think about the widely debated ordinance recently passed by the Chicago City Council. For those who aren't familiar, the "big box" ordinance would require stores with more than 90,000 square feet to pay their workers $10 per hour and at least $3 per hour in benefits by the year 2010.

During the weeks before and after the vote, I listened intently to radio call-in programs and followed the commentary in local newspapers. And, as I tend to do, I started weighing the pros and cons from a parents' perspective.

While I don't have any hard data to back it up, experience tells me that there are plenty of moms and dads who work at "big box" stores. One only has to look at the "I Love Mom" necklaces and buttons with pictures of beautiful babies proudly worn by the clerks at the check out counter to know. You also don't have to be an economist to figure out that these days, even a full-time position at Walmart or Target does not pay enough to support a family, which is why employees of these stores often have to rely on government subsidized child care, health care and food programs to make ends meet.

In fact, here in Illinois, two-thirds of families that receive public benefits are headed by a worker earning $10 or less according to The Hidden Public Cost of Low-Wage Work, a report released this week by the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Statistics like these, and the fact that many of these workers are probably the same people America was so eager to get off the welfare rolls, are enough to convince me that a living wage ordinance is a good thing.

At the same time, I know that economic development and job creation are essential to the revitalization of impoverished communities where many parents are struggling to raise our future generations. They want places where they can work and buy affordable, basic necessities like clothing and school supplies for their kids. Many of them fought the ordinance, and I can understand why.

Despite compelling arguments for and against, I decided that there is just no easy answer, especially for parents who have to find ways to balance our household budgets with our values. But, regardless of our position on the ordinance, hopefully we can all agree that work - whether it's in the stockroom of a "big box" store or in a corporate boardroom - should enable us to pay the bills and care for our families.