Chicago City Council rejects proposed fur ban, approves more than $3 million in police misconduct settlements
The Chicago City Council on Wednesday voted down an effort to ban the sale of new fur products in the city, while approving a handful of settlements in police misconduct lawsuits.
Aldermen voted 26-19 against the fur ban proposed by Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), after impassioned pleas from critics who said it would harm Black entrepreneurs, and that a decision on whether or not to buy fur products should be left up to individual consumers.
Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th), who chairs the City Council Black Caucus, said banning the sale of new furs would "have such a devastating economic consequence to our city's small businesses."
Coleman said Chicago is home to one of only three Black-owned furriers in the country, Island Furs in the Beverly neighborhood, and said that wearing fur is an important part of Black heritage.
"For Black women, furs are about embracing elegance in a world that has not been kind to us. It is about pride and strength, and the ability to access a luxury item," she said.
Coleman also said Chicago has a long history in the retail fashion industry, and claimed "this ordinance would undermine that legacy."
"It goes beyond just the sale of furs, but it prohibits the sale of Ugg boots. Gentlemen, every woman in your life has a pair of Ugg boots, I want you to know," she said. "Let's support policies that uplift businesses rather than shut them down. Let's respect consumer choice, rather than dictate personal decisions."
A group of Black clergy members joined Island Furs owner Gerard Brown at a rally ahead of the meeting to urge the council to vote down the proposed ban.
"This is about shutting down businesses that have been a staple in our community for over 30 years," said Rev. Dr. Walter P. Turner, III, pastor of New Spiritual Light Missionary Baptist Church.
Brown said the fur industry is not just a business, but an art form, and argued people who oppose the sale of real fur can simply choose not to buy it.
"I can understand if people don't want to wear my product. That's okay. That's what makes our country; freedom of speech, freedom of choice," Brown said outside City Hall on Wednesday.
Brown has pointed out that Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the man recognized as Chicago's founder, was also a fur trader — which Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) also noted at the hearing Wednesday.
Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th), whose ward is home not only to Island Furs, but also Andriana Furs, known for their famous TV jingle, "Feel the warmth and luxury that you deserve — Andriana Furs!" said the fur ban would put the city's six fur shops out of business.
Supporters of the proposed ban said the way animals are trapped, bred, and killed for their pelts leads to suffering and public health risks, but O'Shea said the City Council shouldn't be dictating that kind of moral choice for consumers.
"It's not about public safety, it's not about public health, rather it's an effort to dictate the moral standards of Chicagoans. What's next? Are we going to ban leather? Are we going to ban beef? Are we going to close McDonald's across our city?" he said.
Lopez sought to counter arguments that his proposal was legislative overreach, noting the City Council regularly votes on local moratoria on liquor licenses and other business regulations at every monthly meeting.
"That is the job of this body; to regulate, to set guidelines for what our expectations are in our communities. That isn't new, and we do it a thousand times over every single day," he said.
Lopez also argued that sales of real furs already are on the decline, and that sales of faux furs — which would be exempt from the ban — are rising, and he said the ban would not have gone into effect for one year, allowing furriers time to adjust their business strategies to stay in business.
"Yes, change is hard, but we also need to showcase to our children, to Chicagoans, that this body can also stand for having compassion and empathy, and how we deal with all things alive moving forward," he said. "We know and understand and appreciate that jobs are on the line, which is why we are hoping to help guide and transition many of these six retailers, into a 21st century business model that uses fur alternatives."
However, Ald. Ervin said Lopez's argument that the fur industry already was in decline rang hollow.
"If the business is going to die, then let it die. It makes no sense for us to kill something that you believe is on its way out," he said.
More than $3 million in police misconduct lawsuit settlements approved
Meantime, the City Council approved a handful of proposed settlements accusing police of misconduct.
Miracle Boyd, a Chicago activist who was punched in the face by an officer during a 2020 protest in Grant Park, is in line for a $280,000 settlement. In July 2020, Boyd was rallying in Grant Park, calling to defund police in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Some in the crowd attempted to tear down the Christopher Columbus statue. Police have said some members of the crowd began attacking officers with fireworks, rocks, frozen bottles, and other objects.
Boyd, then 18, and an activist with GoodKids MadCity, was filming video on her cell phone when she saw Nicholas Jovanovich "walking aggressively toward her," and calling her a "piece of s***," according to her lawsuit. Jovanovich then hit her in the face "without justification," knocking out her tooth, and telling her "give me that f***ing phone."
In addition to losing a tooth, Boyd also suffered nerve damage, according to her lawsuit.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, ruled Jovanovich used excessive force, and made several false or misleading statements during the investigation, and recommended he be fired. Jovanovich resigned before the Chicago Police Board could move forward with any disciplinary action.
Boyd has said she didn't do anything to excuse the officer's actions, noting it's legal in Illinois to record public interactions with police.
The City Council voted 34-15 to approve the $280,000 settlement with Boyd.
The City Council also voted unanimously to pay $2.5 million to the families of two people killed during high-speed police chases that violated Chicago Police Department policies.
The family of Ezell Ricky Island will get a $1.5 million settlement, after he was killed in a crash on the West Side in February 2020.
Island was in the back seat of a car being chased at speeds of more than 75 mph after cutting off an unmarked police SUV as he pulled out of a liquor store parking lot.
The driver of the SUV refused to stop when police tried to pull him over, and ended up crashing into a pillar supporting CTA tracks along Lake Street. Island was killed and three others were injured in the crash.
A lawsuit filed by Island's family accuses police of chasing the SUV without permission and not reporting the chase to dispatchers at the city's 911 center, as required by police orders.
A $1 million settlement will go to the family of Mignonne Robinson, who was killed after being hit by a car fleeing police three days after the chase that killed Island.
Robinson was driving on Kedzie Avenue when her car was hit by a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop on Jackson Boulevard. Her family's lawsuit claims police failed to notify dispatchers of the chase, and of conducting a chase at high speeds even though the risk to innocent bystanders outweighed the benefits of pulling over a driver for running a red light.
LGBTQ+ hotel, Rector Building landmark status up for final approval
Aldermen also approved landmark status for the Rector Building, at 79 W. Monroe St., which is undergoing a $64.2 million renovation as part of the city's effort to revitalize underused buildings in the Loop.
A developer is converting 11 of the building's empty office floors into apartments and businesses.
Built in 1905, the 14-story building is the oldest surviving commercial high-rise designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt, who designed buildings all over the city and elsewhere in the late 19th and early 20th century, according to the city's Department of Planning and Development.
Landmark designation for the building will protect its exterior architecture as the interior undergoes renovations.
Aldermen also gave the green light to a boutique hotel in Lakeview geared toward LGBTQ+ visitors. The six-story hotel at 3257 N. Halsted St., at the southeast corner of the intersection with Aldine Avenue, would feature a rooftop deck and a basement speakeasy bar.
The hotel would be constructed on the site building that used to house Yoshi's Café, which has sat vacant since the restaurant closed in December 2021 after nearly 40 years in business.
The developer is Allan O'Brien, owner of Men's Room Chicago, a popular fashion store a few hundred feet away on Halsted.
