Yesterday I wrote a little something about the city’s promoter’s ordinance. Don’t let anyone fool you, this ordinance is not about safety, it’s about money. Money the city can’t get from promoters who sponsor shows at established venues (the city, of course, is exempt from these no licensing fees). And make no mistake: these aren’t cigar-chomping sleazebags, or people who operate unsafe clubs (note that the “impetus” for this proposal was the E2 disaster which can only tangentially be blamed on the promoters) these are people like…well, me, when I worked at Chicagoist and we would sponsor shows. Or Tankboy, or Gapers Block or any of the other individuals who put together bills and make this city’s music scene so great.

But as you’ll see if you read the post, I reserve most of my ire for the Chicago music community itself. For years now, differences among venue owners and other members of the community has prevented them from banding together as a group to prevent laws like this from passing. In fact, I wrote a variation on this post two years ago. I’ll be interested to see what actions are taken in advance of next week’s City Council vote.

Also, look for a review of last night’s Robyn show on the TOC blog later today.