Aldermen opposed to Chicago’s controversial restaurant ban on foie gras said they will try to force a vote Wednesday to repeal the measure.
Noting opposition to the ban from the restaurant industry, Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th) said Tuesday he would take action to force a council vote to overturn the measure. The legislation prohibits restaurants from serving the delicacy made from the enlarged livers of geese and ducks.
“We think we have the votes to do it,” Tunney said of the repeal effort.
Tunney is a strong ally of Mayor Daley, who has dismissed the ban as “the silliest law the City Council has ever passed” and warned that it could stifle economic development in the city.
The Illinois Restaurant Association, led by former Daley Chief of Staff Sheila O’Grady, challenged the ban in court. But last year a federal judge dismissed the restaurant group’s lawsuit, ruling that the city had a constitutional right to enact the measure.
Ald. Joe Moore (49th) sponsored the ban at the urging of animal-rights groups. On Tuesday, he decried Tunney’s parliamentary maneuver to force another vote.
“There’s really no reason to bring this up again,” Moore said. “Restaurants continue to survive and thrive. I can’t think of one restaurant that has closed because of this.”
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Foie gras background
Foie gras is produced by inserting tubes down the necks of geese and ducks. The birds are then force-fed to expand their livers to as much as 10 times normal size. The city’s ban on foie gras was passed in April 2006 by a 48-1 margin.