Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’s “deeply disappointed” in Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney after the longtime alderman acknowledged letting people eat inside his Ann Sather restaurant despite city and state rules designed to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Tunney, whose restaurant is facing up to $10,500 in possible fines from the city, “knows that he did wrong” and “will absolutely be held accountable,” Lightfoot said Wednesday.
“I’ve heard from a number of restaurateurs about this issue but the one thing they’ve consistently said to me throughout this very difficult year for them is just be fair. Make sure that whatever the rules are, that they are enforced uniformly, that there’s no exceptions, and when people break those rules, they are held accountable,” Lightfoot said. “Ald. Tunney understands that he made an intentional decision to break the rules. He didn’t just break them as a businessperson. He broke them as an alderman who swore an oath to live and abide by a higher set of standards than the average person and that’s one of the things I’ve been hearing a lot from people that’s made them really angry and animated about this.”
Tunney, a key member of Lightfoot’s City Council leadership team as her hand-picked chair of the Zoning Committee, previously acknowledged diners have been eating inside his Belmont Avenue restaurant and called it an “error in judgment.”
“We’ve been sporadically letting some people in, regulars at the restaurant, to accommodate them from time to time,” Tunney said Monday. “It’s done. It will not continue, as of today.”
Tunney previously declined to comment about the citations, beyond acknowledging he had received them and has a hearing date early next year. He did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Lightfoot’s remarks.
Tunney is the latest Democratic politician to get in trouble for not following social distancing rules. Recently, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was widely ridiculed for attending a fancy dinner at The French Laundry.
In Chicago, Lightfoot was criticized early in the pandemic for getting her hair done after Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order that also closed down hair salons and barbershops. Lightfoot, who justified her decision in part by saying she is the face of the city and does national media appearances, also had done a public service announcement advising residents that getting their roots done isn’t an essential service.
Lightfoot also was criticized for joining street celebrations after Joe Biden was declared the winner of last month’s presidential election.
Earlier in the week Tunney said that the dining room was never crowded at Ann Sather and that diners were kept apart at socially distanced tables.
Tunney last month voted against Lightfoot’s 2021 budget package and its $94 million property tax increase. The alderman, whose ward includes some of the highest property values in the city, said he couldn’t support another hike on his constituents. The tax hike passed by a 28-22 vote, and the budget passed by a vote of 29-21.
How much Tunney’s Lakeview restaurant ultimately gets fined will be determined by the Department of Administrative Hearings at a later date.
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