26 Citations Have Been Issued To 13 Chicago Businesses For Violating COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

(by Tara Molina | CBS Chicago) – The city’s new proof of COVID-19 vaccination mandate for restaurants, gyms, and certain entertainment venues has resulted in 26 citations in a period of a week and a half.

So how is it being enforced, and what has that enforcement looked like? CBS 2’s Tara Molina has been tracking this issue for weeks, and received new information from the city and county Wednesday.

Posters and notices went up on every Chicago restaurant, gym, and entertainment venue serving food and drinks early this month, when the vaccination mandate went into effect on Monday, Jan. 3.

We heard concerns from business owners in the days leading up to the mandate – so how has it been since? We’ve heard mixed reviews.

“We’re just trying to comply, keep our license, and not get fined,” Leonard DeFranco, owner of Hawkeye’s Bar and Grill at 1458 W. Taylor St., told CBS 2’s Shardaa Gray on Tuesday, Jan. 4.

So we turned to the city and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection – the office responsible for compliance, licensing, and fines.

So far, they’ve cited 13 businesses in the city failing to abide by the requirement, issuing 26 citations in the week and a half the requirement has been in place.

BACP would not do an interview with us, or tell us if they’ve checked any businesses randomly. They did say all of their investigations are driven by complaints – but would not say how many 311 complaints they’ve received or many investigations they’ve conducted. Read Full Article >