The Talker: Should city eliminate the `Taste of Chicago?`
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CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
Should "The Taste of Chicago" be canceled permanently?
A group of aldermen want the city to at least consider it and one alderman is all but convinced it's time for "The Taste" to go.
The aldermen are demanding the city council hold hearings to look at nixing "The Taste" or to come up changes to make it a better investment.
The "Taste" has been losing money. Two years ago, it lost $1 million. Last year Mayor Emanuel shortened it to five days, scaled back the number of restaurants, tweaked amenities, and charged money for some concert seats, but "The Taste" lost even more money.
Aldermen say "The Taste" also sucks up police resources, and creates traffic and a bunch of other hassles downtown.
The downtown Alderman Bob Fioretti says with packed crowds and the heat, it's not even fun. He also adds it's not like the hotels are packed for the event, so there's no longer an economic spillover. Fioretti says unless someone proves "The Taste" brings economic opportunity and vitality to Chicago, it should be ended.
Others say "The Taste" is about more than money. They say it's fun and it also showcases the city.
As for Mayor Emanuel, he seems inclined to keep "The Taste," with some ongoing tweaks.
"I expect us to continue to make changes and modernize and reform the taste of Chicago so it better fits where we are today than where it was in the past," Emanuel says.
There is no talk of canceling this year's "Taste," as plans for that are already well in the works.
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