DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO

Ald. Tom Tunney’s Lake View restaurant, Wicker Park club cited for defying indoor service ban

Since March, the city has investigated 6,994 instances of COVID-19 violations and cited 344 businesses.
By David Struett@dstru312 Updated Dec 8, 2020, 2:49pm CST

The city said it took this photo of a party at an illegal club early Saturday at “Wicker Loft” at 1257 N. Milwaukee Ave., in violation of the state’s indoor service ban. Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection



Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44th) Lake View Ann Sather Restaurant and a Wicker Park club that held a party with 142 mask-less patrons were among the latest businesses to be cited by the city for violating the city and state’s indoor service ban.

Tunney’s three Ann Sather locations were investigated by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection after the alderman admitted Monday that he “made a mistake” by allowing some of his regular customers to dine inside his businesses.

“While no COVID-19 violations were found during these investigations, it was determined that the Ann Sather Restaurant located at 909 W. Belmont Ave. had [been] previously allowing indoor dining,” a statement from the city department said.

Liberal Extremist Ald. Tom Tunney inside his main Ann Sather restaurant in September 2020. AP file

Illinois restaurants were ordered to cease indoor service in late October for a second time during the coronavirus pandemic to stop a second surge of cases.

Tunney’s admission came after the “Second City Cop” blog disclosed that he had been serving guests and posted pictures of food on indoor tables. On one table, near a slice of bacon, a copy of a newspaper dated Dec. 3 can be seen.

Tunney faces a maximum fine of $10,500 for the two citations, but the final amount won’t be determined until his administrative hearing in February.