Locally, aldermen who voted for the ordinance are William J.P. Banks, 36th Ward; Tom Allen, 38th Ward; Margaret Laurino, 39th Ward; Brian Doherty, 41st Ward; and Patrick Levar, 45th Ward.

The Federation of Labor is hailing these aldermen as "Living Wage Warriors."

The law would make major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target pay their employees $13 an hour in wages and benefits starting in 2010. The mayor, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, strongly opposed the ordinance, arguing that it would drive large employers out to the suburbs.

So now, the labor unions and grassroots organizations that lobbied for the ordinance are nervous. There is speculation that Mayor Richard M. Daley might veto the "Big Box" law, and there's talk in the press that aldermen might change their votes.

For any alderman who supported the ordinance, they will have to make a choice, one with large implications for the 2007 election. Earn favor with the mayor and flip your vote? Or continue visibly supporting the labor unions? Of course, any alderman who erases his or her vote in favor of the ordinance and joins the opposition would become a main target of the unions' wrath.

And for any alderman who does a flip for the mayor on that vote, there's a slightly less important question: Would you have to return the plaque?