Chicago Politician Attempts to Stop Planned Chick-fil-A

Boston mayor Thomas Menino isn't the only one who wants to ban Chick-fil-A from coming to town: Chicago alderman Joe Moreno is also attempting to stop a location of the fast food restaurant from being built in his ward. Moreno tells the Chicago Tribune he has been concerned about Chick-fil-A's anti-gay leanings since the planning process started, but "executives assured him they would take no stance on the issue of gay rights." That is, until Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy announced he was "guilty as charged" when it comes to being anti-gay.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel also released a statement denouncing Cathy and Chick-fil-A, writing "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values...They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents." It's not clear whether he supports Moreno's attempt to block the new location, but he does add "This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty."

Chicago has a longstanding tradition of "aldermanic privilege" in which the City Council would defer to a specific alderman (member of the Council) on localized issues concerning his or her ward, so there's a chance Moreno will be successful in blocking the Chick-fil-A. He also adds that in addition to his concerns about the fried chicken chain's anti-gay stance, he's also worried about traffic in the proposed location. This would be Chicago's second Chick-fil-A.

· Alderman to Chick-fil-A: No Deal [Chicago Tribune]
· All Chick-fil-A Coverage on Eater [-E-]