Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney yesterday "stood his ground against the Cubs’ request for a patio permit to sell liquor at an open-air plaza adjacent to a renovated Wrigley Field," according to Fran Spielman of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. He said, "If you look at the rules for the patio license they requested, they could stay open from 11 a.m. to midnight and allow people to drink all day and all night during the game and after the game. That’s a public safety issue." Tunney noted that the largest outdoor patio in Chicago "has a maximum capacity of 240 people." Tunney: “How does it make sense to allow a 4,000-person patio in a very small area adjacent to two of the busiest streets in the neighborhood?" Cubs VP/Communications & Community Affairs Julian Green "accused Tunney of creating a double-standard for the Cubs and the bars that feed off the stadium crowd." Spielman notes the City Council "plays no role in granting an outdoor patio permit." It is "approved by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Liquor Control Commission." If Emanuel sides with Tunney, the patio permit "will be blocked" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 5/11).
