A Cook County Circuit Court judge said that the current laws which govern the food trucks are constitutional. It allowed the trucks to operate under city guidelines. But the truck operators call the laws as too restrictive.
Food truck owner Laura Pekarik walked out of court after the defeat, but she has been fighting still now.
Pekarik said, "I was disappointed. I think that the evidence is truly in our favor and we will appeal” .
Pekarik and lawyers from the Institute for Justice, expected the judge to overturn a city ordinance urging food trucks to park at least 200 feet from brick-and-mortar restaurants.
Robert Frommer, the attorney said, "The purpose of government is to keep us healthy and safe and prevent real harms - not to be protecting businesses from legitimate competition. people decide where to get their lunch, not City Hall."
Pekarik said that she had stopped bringing her Cupcakes for Courage truck to Chicago, because the 200-foot rule was too restrictive.
In Monday's ruling, the judge said that 200-foot rule has balanced the interests of restaurants and food trucks and it has reduced pedestrian congestion.
In August, the I-Team and The Chicago Sun-Times exposed that the food trucks had been violating the 200-foot rule by parking in tow zones, bus stops and spilling into crosswalks, overstuffing those designated food stands. At that time, the city seemed to be looking the other way perhaps.
Pekarik said, "The parking situation is very difficult and that's what we need in order to sell our products".
The court upheld the city's requirement to make food trucks install GPS tracking devices, for protecting the health and safety of customers if there is a foodborne illness.
But in the I-Team's investigation, the city was unable to provide any proof that it had been keeping track of the data.
Frommer commented, "That kind of required physical device on your truck in order to get information from you is a search between both the 4th amendment and the Illinois constitution".
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