Chicago's Red Tape Snarls Baby Business

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

So you think you're having a problem with City Hall red tape?

Listen to the story of how Rick Miller ended up hiring the president of the Illinois Senate to get permission to open a toddler playroom just off of the Magnificent Mile -- a tale that's one of a collection contained in a new report on what would-be entrepreneurs face in Chicago.

The story begins in 2007. That's when Mr. Miller decided that downtown needed some sort of facility for stressed parents to let their kids roll around and release some energy for a couple of hours while mom and dad surfed the Web, had some coffee or just sat and watched.
Mr. Miller decided on a location right across from Northwestern Memorial Hospital. But he quickly discovered that, under city law, child play centers are different than day-care centers. Specifically, they need to get a piece of paper known as a Public Place of Amusement (PPA) license.

Doing so is no easy task. The local alderman must be informed and all residents within 250 feet of the location be notified by registered mail. So, Mr. Miller hired a crack attorney/lobbyist: John Cullerton. The same John Cullerton who, about a year later, was elected president of the Illinois Senate.

But even Mr. Cullerton couldn't remove another obstacle.

You'll want to read this one.