City Council Moves Forward with 'Bucket Boys' Ordinance
By Prescott Carlson in News on Jun 3, 2009 4:00PM
A City Council committee has approved moving ahead with a noise ordinance proposed by Ald. Brendan Reilly, aimed at cracking down on the "Bucket Boys" and other street performers downtown. Picking up where his predecessor Burt Natarus left off, Reilly wants to give an existing noise ordinance more teeth by revoking a performer's license after fewer violations of playing above acceptable decibel levels. Police Cmdr. Steve Georgas testified to the committee agreeing with Reilly that the performers weren't just annoyances, but can also contribute to petty crime, like pickpocketing.
However, Georgas also stated that such violations are difficult to enforce -- it's not as if Chicago police carry sound meters. Only 30 tickets were issued in 2008 along Michigan Avenue -- a popular spot for the Bucket Boys -- and it couldn't be confirmed how many of these were even for violating the sound ordinance. Because of this (and the fact that many performers are unlicensed, making the threat of revocation moot), Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) wondered why the city should even bother, saying, "If we can't catch them, as we've been told, then I don't understand why we're putting another law on the books, too." [Trib]