Aldermen Begin Limiting Where Newly Legal Food Carts Can Operate
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's been barely a month since the City Council opened the door for food carts to operate legally in Chicago, and already aldermen have begun carving out some parts of the city where they won't be welcome.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) used to work at a food cart, but he said there are some crowded streets in the Central Business District where people lining up for food could be a safety problem, so the downtown alderman has won License Committee approval for an ordinance banning carts from certain streets.
"This is a good start. It's not a blanket prohibition downtown. It calls out specific blocks on specific streets where we think this could be an unsafe activity," he said.
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Reilly acknowledged there hasn't been much food cart activity yet, but he said "the concern is there's only so much sidewalk."
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) also got approval for a measure banning food carts from streets right around Wrigley Field.
Food trucks, which already have been operating in Chicago for a few years, would not be affected by the restrictions, which go to the full City Council for a vote on Wednesday.
