Zero Tolerance Experiment?

Seems like last week there was a minor effort to crack down on Compliance Violations downtown:

• New videos show street vendors being escorted away from their carts in the Loop—facing fines, citations, and possible arrest.

  Experts say this is something that's happening more and more recently and is renewing conversations about the legality of vending in the city's most popular areas.

  Typically, around Michigan Avenue, vendors line that part of Millennium Park, but as of Monday, the majority of those vendors were missing. Those who were there shared videos showing their fellow vendors being whisked away by Chicago police.

And they're complaining that the law hasn't been enforced for years, decades even, so it's unfair to enforce it now:

• "One ticket is maybe alright, but like the police are strict now—every week, every Saturday and Sunday they come," he says.

  Marlen Romero is also a street vendor selling fruit.

  "Because we have needs, we have to support a family, I have four children here," she said.

  Her husband had to run and rotate locations to avoid being seen by the police.

  "Meantime, we're looking to sell. I know there are laws here, I know is prohibited, but we're not hurting anyone, and sometimes they treat us like thieves," she said. 

Um, you're hurting actual established businesses who pay rent, property taxes, business licenses, etc. And you're selling in locations prohibited to be at. Not to mention you have no running water, no health inspections, no refrigeration for perishable items etc. Oh, and your tracking of Sales Tax Revenue leaves a lot to be desired. 

That $100 peddlers license (valid for two years) doesn't offset the downside of creating a Third World atmosphere.