Business

Chicago City Council Votes 19-26 to Reject Push to Ban Sale of New Furs

The Chicago City Council voted 19-26 on Wednesday to reject a push to ban the sale of newly created furs within city limits, turning back an effort by animal rights advocates that opponents said would kill businesses and destroy part of Chicago’s cultural legacy.

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward), the lead author of the measure, said it would strike a necessary blow against animal cruelty.

“Change is hard, but we need to show compassion and empathy to our children,” said Lopez, adding that the fur business would soon die out.

Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th Ward), the chair of the City Council’s Black Caucus, said it would harm Black Chicagoans. 

For many Black families, Coleman said, fur coats are “treasured pieces of generational wealth” and a public sign that they had found their financial footing after moving to Chicago from the South during the Great Migration.

“This misguided effort would be devastating for our small businesses,” Coleman said.

All but three members of the Black Caucus voted against the ban, which split the Progressive Caucus while winning support from several of the most conservative members of the City Council, who normally take what they call “pro-business” positions on issues.

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th Ward) urged his colleagues to reject the proposed ban, saying it would force two Black-owned businesses in his ward to close for no good reason.

“This is an effort to dictate the moral standards of Chicagoans,” O’Shea said. “What’s next? Are we going to ban leather? Are we going to ban beef? Ban McDonald’s?”

During his remarks, O’Shea sang the commercial jingle for Andriana Furs, a longtime South Side fur shop, which many Chicagoans grew up humming along with, drawing knowing laughter from his colleagues and the crowd.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward) said that if the fur business was on its way out, as Lopez said it was, there was no need for the City Council to act. Lopez did not understand the value of fur to many Black Chicagoans perhaps because of “cultural differences,” Ervin said.

“I don’t understand why you would do this,” Ervin said. “This city was founded by a fur-trader.”

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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