News

Chicago mayor proposes more food truck friendly rules

December 23, 2019

Chicago food trucks will be allowed to park in a legal space for four hours under a plan proposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, according to a Chicago Sun Times report.

The proposal, which doubles the amount of time a food truck can stay in one place, has the support of the Illinois Restaurant Association, which has historically opposed food trucks.

The previous mayor, Rahm Emanuel, faced opposition from aldermen when he tried to create a permanent designation for "mobile merchants." Aldermen thought the law could create a double standard for food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants.

Lightfoot's ordinance is designed to provide relief for food trucks that are required to park a minimum 200 feet away from brick-and-mortar restaurants and remain in one place for a maximum two hours.

Under the proposed plan, mobile merchants will pay $250 for a two-year license instead of the current $1,100 for mobile food preparers and $700 for mobile food dispensers

The city has so far only allowed four mobile merchants to test the new plan under an "emerging business permit" due to expire at the end of January.