CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney, the owner of Ann Sather Restaurant & Catering, admitted to making an “error in judgment” by allowing some indoor dining while state and local regulations prohibit it. He now faces a possible fine.
After the Second City Cop blog revealed that the restaurant let some customers inside to eat, Ald. Tunney issued a written statement reading, “On a sporadic basis, we have allowed a very limited number of our regular diners to eat inside the restaurant while observing social distancing and mask-wearing rules. This was error in judgement and won’t happen again.”
Effective Oct. 30, Governor Pritzker enforced a statewide ban on indoor bar in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Governor Pritzker reacted Monday to the news.
“I agree it was an error in judgment. I will also say that elected officials should be setting the example. Not creating the example that people may follow that will spread coronavirus. We have mitigations in place for a reason. We have asked everybody to follow them, and frankly, most restaurants and bars have followed them. They're doing the right thing. I think that the alderman has said properly that it was an error in judgment and I think it was a tremendous one...The double standard is the people out there that think that they don't have to follow the rules."
Mayor Lightfoot’s office released a statement on Tunney’s restaurant violation reading, “Any business found in violation of these guidelines has been and will be held fully accountable. No exceptions."
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The city’s department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection said Ann Sather was one of many restaurants that received an outreach call, making sure it was aware of COVID-19 rules.
The department said this matter is under investigation and could result in citations against Tunney’s restaurant.
Ann Sather's three restaurant locations are on the North Side.