41 violations issued to party bus operators in summer crackdown: city

At least 41 party buses have been ticketed since the start of the summer as part of the city’s continuing crackdown on rolling venues that officials claim lead to violence and crime.

That figure includes four operators who have been ordered to “cease and desist,” and 20 ticketed for operating without a city license, Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Rosa Escareno said at a Friday press conference along with Chicago Police officials.

Of the 41 violations, five were handed down last weekend alone, during an operation that also targeted illegal valet services and stores selling loose or unstamped cigarettes, Escareno said.

It’s all part of a city crackdown that started in April with a new ordinance reining in party bus operators with a host of new regulations.

In July, the city sent out cease-and-desist letters to 17 party bus companies for a range of violations, from failing to hire security guards and install surveillance cameras, to ignoring the requirement to maintain a log of passengers served and stops made.

“These are businesses that are not adding any value to our communities. They are hurting our residents in the area, and, bottom line, they are just trying to get away with operating illegally,” Escareno said.

“If you’re not one of our good operators, then we really don’t need you in the city of Chicago.”

At least 10 shootings and one homicide have taken place on party buses over the last two years, according to police.

Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), who championed the new regulations, has decried some party buses as “potential rolling cemeteries where armed, sometimes fatal violence can break out at a moment’s notice thanks to the potent mix of guns and alcohol.”