Chinatown Restaurants Violating Illinois' Shark Fin Ban
By Anthony Todd in Food on Aug 14, 2013 3:20PM
Remember how Illinois banned the sale, trade or distribution of shark fin midway through last year? Shark fin bans have since multiplied throughout the country, with the plight of hunted sharks receiving national media attention. Unfortunately, it looks like some restaurants in our very own Chinatown either didn't get the memo or have decided to go ahead serving the delicacy anyway, as the very first citation for violating the ban was issued last week.
DNA Chicago reports that one restaurant in Chinatown, MingHin Cuisine, was found with shark fin on display. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources got an anonymous tip and police confiscated the fin and fined the restaurant $120.
DNAInfo also found that at least three restaurants in Chinatown still have shark fin soup on the menu, though they didn't actually order the dish to find out if the menus were out of date.