TODAY – Chicago City Council committee to consider lifting ban on food carts

September 16, 2015

Committee on License and Consumer Protection to discuss lifting Chicago’s food-cart ban at meeting 11 a.m.; if successful, issue will move to full City Council on Thursday, Sept. 24

CHICAGO (Sept. 16, 2015) –  Today, a Chicago City Council committee will discuss lifting the city’s longstanding ban on food carts. The Committee on License and Consumer Protection is scheduled to discuss the matter at 11 a.m. at City Hall. If successful, the measure will then head to the full City Council for a vote on Sept. 24.
Legalizing food carts would increase the availability of fresh, affordable food across the city, especially in economically depressed areas. Original research from the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute also found that legalizing food carts would result in between 2,145 and 6,435 new jobs in the city, and between $2.1 million to $8.5 million in new city and county sales-tax revenue.“Chicago’s ban on food carts hurts local entrepreneurs and denies Chicagoans great food options in neighborhoods across the city. Food carts add to Chicago’s diverse culture and local economies,” said Michael Lucci, Vice President of Policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. “Allowing food-cart vendors to operate more freely will bring jobs and tax revenue to Chicago while bringing even more great food options to the city.”

Chicago currently is home to an estimated 1,500 food carts. This burgeoning industry operates in mostly minority, and primarily Hispanic, neighborhoods, but is not considered a “legitimate” business by the city. Every day, food-cart operators fear arrest just for operating their businesses. The ordinance lifting the ban on food carts would not only bring Chicago’s food cart laws up to par with almost every other major U.S. city, but would also allow food carts to be licensed and inspected while operating freely and legally.

*** A rally for food-cart vendors and supporters will be held at 10:30 a.m. CST today in the second-floor lobby at City Hall. Food-cart vendors, Alderman Roberto Maldonado – the primary sponsor of the bill, as well as Illinois Policy Institute experts, will be available for interview and comment.

Highlights from the Illinois Policy Institute’s research on food carts:

  • Chicago currently has an estimated 1,500 food cart street vendors serving more than 50,000 meals per day.
  • Allowing food carts in Chicago could generate:
    • Between 2,145 and 6,435 new jobs in the city.
    • $2 million to $8.1 million in new state sales-tax revenue.
    • $2.1 million to $8.5 million in new city and county sales-tax revenue.
  • Food carts are legal in 23 of the 25 largest cities in the U.S.
  • According to a survey of Chicago food cart vendors by the Illinois Policy Institute:
    • 55 percent of vendors are women.
    • A vast majority of vendors are minorities, primarily Hispanic.
    • 95 percent of vendors support at least one dependent with their earnings.

The Institute’s report is available online here: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/reports/chicagos-food-cart-ban-costs-revenue-jobs

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