Chicago aldermen's attack on music

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

In a poorly designed attempt to rein in underground party promoters in response to the E2 tragedy in 2003, the City Council is rushing to pass legislation that will make it more difficult and sometimes impossible for responsible concert organizers to present music at many legitimate licensed venues in Chicago.

In comments that have been echoed in hundreds of posts throughout the blogosphere and dozens of angry phone calls to aldermen since the so-called "promoter's ordinance" was approved last week by the Committee on License and Consumer Protection, activists from the Chicago Music Commission lashed out at the law and said they plan to protest it before the City Council vote on Wednesday.

"The language of the ordinance as drafted unnecessarily and perhaps prohibitively increases the cost of doing business for any promoter seeking to work with PPA [public place of amusement]-licensed music venues, including, among many others, Schubas, Buddy Guy's Legends, the Vic Theater, the Riviera Theater, the Metro, the Hideout, Uncommon Ground and Martyrs'," said Alligator Records founder and CMC board member Bruce Iglauer.

"The ordinance will reduce the amount of music in Chicago, make events more expensive for consumers, dampen the large and growing economic engine that is Chicago music and create a much less supportive business climate for Chicago's small music business community." Iglauer said.

The ordinance as it stands requires independent promoters to apply for a license at a cost between $500 and $2,000 every two years, submit to fingerprinting and a criminal background check, secure as much as $300,000 in liability insurance and be at least 21 years old.

These requirements add an additional layer of bureaucracy and expense on promoters who are working at venues that have already met Chicago's insurance and licensing requirements, which are some of the most stringent in the United States. Those same promoters say this law is not unlike requiring someone to become a licensed auto mechanic before taking their car to a reputable, well-established garage for repairs.

The high cost of doing business in Chicago.