Food trucks: Chicago police cracking down on business

Food trucks: Chicago police cracking down on business

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Food trucks use social media to tell people when and where to buy their food. Lupita Kuri, owner of Sweet Ride Chicago, says police officers have watched Sweet Ride’s Facebook page to track her cupcake truck to ticket it. Kuri says she and other drivers have seen an increasing police presence around their trucks.

“To run your business, you have to incorporate getting the tickets as part of your bottom line because you can’t not operate without expecting that at this point,” Kuri said.

Chicago Police spokesman Melissa Stratton said there hasn’t been any added enforcement to food trucks. Just like all other motorists, she said, food trucks need to park legally or else they’ll be cited. Stratton said police officers, to her knowledge, don’t use social media to track down food trucks.

Kuri says there aren’t enough parking spots in busy areas for trucks to operate 100 percent legally.

The University of Chicago will host a Chicago food truck symposium on Saturday. Truck owners, residents and scholars are scheduled to discuss current laws and pitch ideas for how to make working, and parking, better for drivers.