Felony Franks finally gets sign

Near West Side fast food joint still suing city for $293,000

08/11/2011 4:23 PM

By Ben Meyerson
Editor

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Steve Adamowski installs a sign Thursday morning at Felony Franks on the Near West Side as residents, passersby, the owner and media look on.
Photos by J. GEIL/Photo Editor



Felony Franks owner Jim Andrews and his wife, Mary, talk while their sign is installed.

After a two-year long battle with the city, Felony Franks finally has the sign they say they need to do business.

The Near West hot dog shop, which hires ex-cons to dish up fast food with novelty names like the “Misdemeanor Weiner” and “Probation Burger,” has fought with Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) since they first opened.

Fioretti argued that the stretch of Western Avenue where Felony Franks sits, near Jackson Boulevard, has been stricken with violence over the years. As the strip tried to improve its image through a new streetscape, new development and increased community involvement, it didn’t need a jailhouse-themed restaurant at Western and Jackson.

So Fioretti blocked their request for a sign in front of the building, bogging it down in the City Council and refusing to sign off on owner Jim Andrews’ request for a sign permit.

Earlier this year, though, Andrews grew tired of battling through bureaucracy and sued Fioretti and the city in federal court for violating his First Amendment rights. Not having a sign was preventing his business from thriving, he said. As a result, his business was on the brink of collapse.

“We could have done a lot more business if we had a sign,” Andrews said after filing the lawsuit in May. “If you were out driving by, you’d think the place was closed during the day. We do more business at night when we have the perimeter lights on.”

On top of asking the court to force Fioretti and the city to sign off on the sign permit, Andrews requested $293,000 in damages from the city for lost revenue.

Under pressure, the city took up the sign permit and quietly passed it at the next City Council meeting — though still without Fioretti’s support.

The sign was finally delivered and installed Thursday morning, two months after being approved by the council.

The legal wrangling isn’t finished yet. Andrews and the city are due back in federal court next month to start debating the monetary damages.


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