Chicago alderman hopes to force vote to repeal foie-gras ban

Aldermen opposed to Chicago's controversial restaurant ban on foie gras said they will try to force a vote Wednesday to repeal the measure, which gained the City Council widespread notoriety since its approval ...

[WillTheDefendant Rise]

With all the problems boiling over in the city, is this the best the Aldermen can do to earn their pay? Murders on the rise, schools failing, parks being given away to private enterprises, property taxes and sales taxes constantly rising, rampant corruption, and a hiring system that needs court appointed oversight. The taxpayers are like the ducks, with all the garbage these idiots push down our throats.

[City Resident]

Durand is wrong if he thinks the ban is about 'not liking' foie gras. It is the cruelty associated with its production we detest.

I think I shall become a founding member of the Chicago Eaters Against Cruelty, and will completely quit eating in Chicago restaurants if this ban is repealed.

Restauranteurs seem to think that they should be able to do anything they want. Witness the number of people they employ illegally, and the number of sanitary inspections they fail.

[sbob2]

," Moore said. "Restaurants continue to survive and thrive. I can't think of one restaurant that has closed because of this."

That's typical Moore. He had the same idea about Walmart, after all if the wages were raised by city decree, Walmart would stay in business anyway.

I also noticed when I was in his ward, that Moore allowed the Communists--Socialists Worker--to use ward facilities for their meetings, and put their announcements on the lamp posts.

Isn't it throughout the city illegal to use lamposts for political announcements? Didn't bother Moore though. Yet when Barbers and local businesses tried to follow the example of the Socialist Worker, it did not work. The lamposts could not be used for commercial, i.e. free enterprise use, only for Communists.k

[Robert Salm]

Alderman Tunney doesn't care about the gruesome process of how foie gras is made. His diner's been shoving cholesterol, trans fats and starches down his customers' throats for years.

[strut2k]

Repeal this stupid law. Let diners and restaurant owners decide for themselves.

Not the goo goo police...

[Jean SmilingCoyote]

Kindness to animals is never "silly." Daley's hyperbolic, non sequitur envisionings and way of delivering his lines do not constitute any kind of logical, factual argument.

[Marie]

Doesn't the alderman have anything better to do? For crying out loud, producing foie-gras equals animal cruelty. What kind of message is this alderman trying to send?

[Critic]

Wow. This should make all those snobs on the LTH forum happy!!

[Jake]

When Daley wants his foie gras, he gets his foie gras.

[This Is About Choice]

The City Council has absolutely no business dictating what food-stuffs may and/or may not be sold in the city. If it's legal to import and/or produce it, it's up to both private business and the consumer as to what the market should offer.
Why do you suppose there are menus? It's all about choice and not facist decrees.

[bluesky]

Foie gras is banned in more than a dozen countries including Israel and the U.K., and the reason is that there is no humane way to make it. A lot of those ducks literally choke to death on their own vomit, or bleed to death when blood vessels in their throats rupture. Some get so heavy that they suffer fractures in their sternums. I'm sorry but I draw the line at "choice" when it involves horrific suffering. We don't NEED foie gras in our diets, so there is no reason to continue making it.

This is felony-level animal cruelty. It shouldn't be allowed just because a few people want to indulge themselves on fatty duck livers.

[No Problem]

I like fois gras - once in a while, I also like to smoke; but, in the People's Republic of Chicago in the County of Strogerville, in the [dire] State of Blagoville, I'm not allowed to do either - for all intents and purposes. Well, fine! I've taken to flying down to Mexico City once a quarter - where I'm still treated like an adult and allowed to exercise my choices of what I eat, if I want to have a smoke after the meal, etc, etc. No problem. I spend some of my restaurant and entertainment dollars in Mexico and I no longer host my firms' annual gathering in Illinois. Rather, I hire some luxury coaches and drive all of my personnel up to southern Wisconsin - where they can eat, drink and light-up IF they want.
I've also decided to phase down 'n out my Chicago operation and to move it offshore. After all, it's MY money and MY firm and I'm taking both to a city that works and where government facilitates matters - as opposed to being a hindrance to both business and/or personal freedoms.
Adios... It's been a slice, but, I can't stand the PC police state here anymore.

[Hi Diddle Diddle]

All of the government's on the fiddle.
Well, screw them and the high horses they rode in on.
As an intermediary step to relocating overseas, I've moved my family and my business to Lake County [where I can still get fois gras in a restaurant - if I choose / am so moved to enjoy some]. I've had it with Chicago and Crook County Politics {taxes, crime, lousy schools - that preclude me from attracting high caliber personnel who require an education for their children, etc, etc}. In another 18 months the building we're building to hosue the business will be completed [in Central Europe] and...we're leaving.
As Chicago, Crook County the State [pathetic that it is] of Illinois and the rest of this once great country slide into the abyss of decline beyond repair, I'm not spending good money after bad when there's no hope in sight.
America is no longer a nation of AmeriCANs, but, of American'ts.
Well, I'm not falling on my sword with the rest of you. No, we're scouting our next location in Asia and looking to the future - no living in the past with our head up our collective b-hind.

[Carl G]

It is about time the City Council did the right thing and put Ald. Joe Moore in his place once and all. The man is a fumbling bumbling loudmouth fool when it comes to city politics and the Fois Gras ban is a shining example of his misguided and warped views of what government can and cannot do. He also has a tendency of leaning more towards the interests of fringe groups like PETA and less towards the interests of the people of his own district. Let the Council revoke the ban, and then tell Moore to concentrate more on the potholes and cracked sidewalks in his district, and less on what is being served in some of Chicago’s fine restaurants.

[Yum Yum]

Oh, I like fois gras - now and again.
Like any good thing, in moderation, it's fine.
I can't - however, stand the liars, hacks and fools who rant about fois gras while they still eat cattle, chickens, pork and all of the other agra-business produced meat products. Chickens never see the light of day, cattle are shot full of hormones and kept as still as possible - so as not to walk off the weight they're being loaded on with, and pigs are...well - you can imagine.
No, the industrial production methods of meat products are pretty...disgusting, but, then - so is the human condition in Chicago these days.
No, I'll continue to enjoy my fois gras every now and then and not join the rest of the fools who thinks this piece of outrageous legislation amounts to anything - not even a hill of beans.
As an aside, my aggregate cholesterol is still under 140, so --- it's not like fois gras is necessarily bad for you either. It's good to be on top of the food chain.
Screw the city council and the county board too.

[Catlady]

Foie is disgusting and cruel. The ordinance was passed because the public became aware of how disgusting and cruel it is, and subsequently asked thier representatives in the City Council to ban it. If Alderman Tunney wants to try to repeal it, he should go ahead. But he doesn't have the right to circumvent the process in doing so, which is what he's trying to do today.

[KAH]

The reason for the ban is animal cruelty not, hey we don't like it lets take it off the menu. The ban is a good one and it should stay. Chicago is not the only city that has banned foie-gras. It is a horrible process to "create" foie-gras.

[Catlady]

Yum Yum wrote:

Oh, I like fois gras - now and again.
Like any good thing, in moderation, it's fine.
I can't - however, stand the liars, hacks and fools who rant about fois gras while they still eat cattle, chickens, pork and all of the other agra-business produced meat products. Chickens never see the light of day, cattle are shot full of hormones and kept as still as possible - so as not to walk off the weight they're being loaded on with, and pigs are...well - you can imagine.
No, the industrial production methods of meat products are pretty...disgusting, but, then - so is the human condition in Chicago these days.
No, I'll continue to enjoy my fois gras every now and then and not join the rest of the fools who thinks this piece of outrageous legislation amounts to anything - not even a hill of beans.
As an aside, my aggregate cholesterol is still under 140, so --- it's not like fois gras is necessarily bad for you either. It's good to be on top of the food chain.
Screw the city council and the county board too.

I agree with you, that is why I am vegan.

[Dave]

Robert Salm wrote:

Alderman Tunney doesn't care about the gruesome process of how foie gras is made. His diner's been shoving cholesterol, trans fats and starches down his customers' throats for years.

Why should we expect anything better from Tunney? This is the same guy who complained about the police enforcing the hands-free cell phone law when he was ticketed for violating it, and who didn't see anything wrong with public sex and prostitution in the parks when it was reported that the Montrose Harbour area was being used for this purpose. Alderman are great at making laws as long as they are exempt from them.

[David in Lakeview]

As a staunch supporter his office for years (including volunteering during your election effort), I was dismayed to read in the Chicago Tribune this morning about Tunney's alleged proposal to repeal of this ban. I fail to understand, if true and if he truly represents his constituency, how he could take steps toward this effort. First of all, this ban passed by a legitimate vote of 48-1. Second, it is never too late to do the right thing to help make the world a kinder place. We all need to do our part to help make things better in this world. We need to consider those that exist outside ourselves, and rely on those who have the power to be humane. Restauranteurs have plenty other options for customers. He should consider a tour or a video of a foie gras production facility. Surely it will change his view. This ban has been passed in many other cities around the world. There is nothing wrong with being humane toward other living beings.