“In response to an nearly unprecedented outpouring of concern from the Chicago music community, Ald. Eugene Schulter, chairman of the City Council License Committee, has decided that he will not present the so-called ‘event promoter’s ordinance’ to the full council on Wednesday for a vote as… More »
Chicago’s music community is up in arms over a looming “promoter’s ordinance” that would require independent event promoters putting on shows at venues with fewer than 500 permanent seats to procure licenses that cost between $500 and $2,000 and secure at least $300,000 in liability insurance; they’ll also have to jump through other hoops like fingerprinting and background checks. This would be in addition to the permits and insurance required for the venues where said events are being held. The law, which would make many live events in Chicago even more of a money-losing proposition for promoters that aren’t Live Nation-sized, is in large part a response to a 2003 fire at the local nightclub E2 that killed 21 people and injured more than 50–an incident which, Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis points out, could have been avoided if laws currently on the books in Chicago had been enforced. Making constituents pay for the embarrassing screw-ups of their politicians? That’s the American way!
