Happy Chicago Food Truck Day!

As we are prepping da schnitzel to hit the road later for the King's midday feast, take a moment to check out what this day is all about! We hope to see you at 11am on Dearborn & Monroe, but if you are looking for a food truck near you check out Food Truck Freak or Chicago Food Truck Finder to locate other Chicago Food Trucks. Remember, the first 19 customers receive FREE FOOD tomorrow!! Make sure to get to the jeep early to lock in your FREE JULY HAM from Da King (while supplies last we'll give it away all day!).

Currently, Chicago is the only national city that does not allow cooking on board a mobile food vendor. The new ordinance the city proposed would allow us to cook & operate for 24 hours, however the 200ft distance rule between brick & mortars and food trucks would still apply, leaving little legal spots for the amount of trucks in the city. Additionally, the GPS surveillance and hefty fines ($1000-$2000) unfairly limit our freedom and have nothing to do with protecting the public. Check out the map below to view the current legal spots food trucks can park in the loop- the orange spots are illegal according to current & proposed legislation.

Chicago Vending Release 8-17-11

With a little help from our friend Food Truck Freak, the Chicago Food Trucks helped organized a petition to amend the current legislation and eliminate the food truck distance ban from brick and mortar restaurants. Consumers deserve the right to choose where we buy our food or when we dine out. Interestingly, in Los Angeles County where there is a thriving food truck community, the only restriction on food truck entails getting written permission from a facility with a public washroom if you stay in a certain spot for a particular amount of time. In 2009, LA Country tried to pass a one-hour duration restriction after restaurants complained about taco trucks eating into their business but the law was later struck down in state court (LA food trucks). If LA can have a thriving food truck community (thousands of trucks!) & restaurants harmoniously operating side by side, why can't Chicago?

Are you ready to take action? If you've already signed the petition then you're half way there! Visit the Institute for Justice's website & start emailing, tweeting, & calling your local alderman. Tell the City Council that they should treat all Chicagoans with business dreams equally, and allow Chicago’s creative chefs to start small and grow big!

Remember, we couldn't do this without you, so thanks for all that you do!! Now go n' get your food truck on!

Royally yours,

SK

"You gotta fight for your right to food truck!"

After attending the My Streets My Eats: Chicago Mobile Food Symposium & Meet Up, hosted by the University of Chicago Law School’s Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship, it was evident that we must do a better job of advocating and associating for the progressive movement of street food in Chicago. We were reminded at the symposium that the 14th Amendment prevents the government from arbitrarily interfering with our ability to earn an honest living in our chosen occupations. Bert Gall (seen below far left), the Patron Saint of Food Trucks and senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, said yesterday, “It is your constitutional right to have economic opportunity and to not have it covered up by protectionist restrictions” (aka the vague and elusive city of Chicago ordinance). 

photo by Institute for Justice

Why won’t the City of Chicago allow food trucks a fair shot in the marketplace? It is well known that the restaurants in Chicago who are against food trucks use their lobbies when they feel threatened, as evident by the harsh parking restrictions in the current food truck ordinance. Currently, the ordinance says a food truck must be at least 200 ft. away from a “restaurant”, which coincidentally leave less than enough legal spots for all the current food trucks to park in the city (check out the map). New ordinances with less restrictive regulations have been proposed, but the aldermen cannot come to an amicable solution that would keep the restaurants happy while also allowing food trucks to fairly operate on the streets.

It’s not like we are asking to be millionaires, just a fair shot at making an honest living! But that seems impossible for trucks to do when the current ordinance makes it difficult to operate and the city aldermen are extremely sensitive to the needs of established brick and mortars. Elizabeth Kregor, Director of the IJ Clinic on Entrepreneurship, stated in an open letter to Chicago Alderman last August, “More fundamentally, it is unfair favoritism to squelch the mobile food businesses to protect the brick-and-mortar restaurants. Citizens of Chicago have a constitutional right to equal protection: the city may not give special protection to one group of business owners.

When the businesses of El Paso, Texas food truckers Yvonne Castaneda, Maria Robledo, Martha Avila, and Michelle Garcia suffered because of their city’s unfair regulations on food trucks, they filed a federal lawsuit against the city of El Paso challenging the constitutionality of its economic protectionism. They fought for their right to keep vending on the streets of El Paso, represented by none other than the Institute for Justice . In response to the lawsuit, El Paso City officials passed a new ordinance eliminating the protectionist regulations against mobile food vendors, which was a major victory for food trucks and for economic liberty (Read more about the case).

Together, we can help the food truck scene thrive in Chicago and correspondingly create economic opportunity for entrepreneurs. We need to keep on disproving negative connotations and misconceptions that currently exist about food trucks, but this starts at the grassroots level. Rumor has it that the new mobile food ordinance will be put in front of Mayor Emmanuel soon, possibly as soon as this week.  If you support Chicago food trucks, economic opportunity, and constitutionality, now is the time to talk to your local alderman.  

photo by Institute for Justice

You gotta fight for your right to food truck!

Royally yours,

SK

Visit keepfoodlegal.org to learn more about your right to eat.

Visis http://www.ij.org/about/3800 to learn more about the My Streets My Eats Campaign.

Alderman	Ward	Email
John Arena	45	Ward45@cityofchicago.org
Michael D. Chandler	24
Willie Cochran	20	Willie.Cochran@cityofchicago.org
Rey Colon	35	Ward35@cityofchicago.org
Timothy Cullerton	38
Jason Ervin	28	Jason.ervin@cityofchicago.org
Toni Foulkes	15	Toni.Foulkes@cityofchicago.org
Leslie Hairston	5	lhairston@cityofchicago.org
Sandi Jackson	7	Ward07@cityofchicago.org
Lona Lane	18	Ward18@cityofchicago.org
Roberto Maldonado	26
Emma Mitts	37	emits@cityofchicago.org
Proco Joe Moreno	1	Ward01@cityofchicago.org
Ameya Pawar	47	info@chicago47.org
Michelle Smith	43	yourvoice@ward43.org
Thomas Tunne	44	ttunney@cityofchicago.org
Michael Zalewski	23	mzalewski@cityofchicago.org
James Cappleman	46	info@james46.org
George A. Cardenas	12	Ward12@cityofchicago.org
Thomas Tunney	44	ttunney@cityofchicago.org
Bob Fioretti	2	Robert.Fioretti@cityofchicago.org
Deborah Graham	29
Mary O’Connor	41	Ward41@cityofchicago.org
Matthew O’Shea	19
Marty Quinn	13
Ariel Reboyras	30	Ward30@cityofchicago.org
Roderick Sawyer	6	service@6thwardchicago.com
Debra Silverstein	50	info@50thwardchicago.com
Nicholas Sposato	36

Gary Casper & Chicago's Finest Promote the Schnitzel King