Chicago Joins Boston in Blocking Chick-fil-A Branch Opening
Chicago alderman Joe Moreno has moved to block Chick-fil-A's from opening its second Windy City location in his ward.
"If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don't want you in the 1st Ward," Moreno told the Chicago Tribune.
Moreno decided to come out swinging after Chick-fil-A's president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press his company was "guilty as charged" in its opposition to marriage equality. "Because of this man's ignorance, I will now be denying Chick-fil-A's permit to open a restaurant in the 1st Ward," said Moreno.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has expressed reserved support for Moreno's stance, remarking in a statement that "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values" and warning the fast-food chain that "This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty."
Aldermanic privilege — which the Tribune calls "a rarely violated Chicago tradition" — means Moreno will likely get the last word on the Chick-fil-A store. Moreno relied on aldermanic privilege last year in his successful endeavor to keep Walmart from building a location in his ward.
Earlier this week, Boston mayor Thomas Menino made his beef with Chick-fil-A known when he said he would make it "very difficult" for the company to open up a branch in Beantown.
