Whether or not you enjoy Chicago’s street performers, one downtown alderman is shaking his fist and proudly exclaiming, “stop all that racket!” On Wednesday, 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly introduced a proposal to strengthen regulations on the volume levels of street performers in popular tourist areas downtown.
In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, Reilly said his office has received thousands of complaints over the past several years concerning “excessive noise” from some street performers in the city’s central business district. “It is important to note that these complaints do not only come from downtown residents, they come from dozens of downtown businesses and office workers too,” Reilly added.
The new rules would revoke the licenses of street performers who are found guilty of excessive noise twice in a year. According to the guidelines, excessive noise is defined as sound that is “louder than an average conversational level at a distance of 100 feet or more, measured either horizontally or vertically from the point of generation.” Additionally, stretches of State Street and Michigan Avenue would be deemed “no-play zones,” prohibiting performances that a person with “normal hearing” could hear at a distance of 20 feet.
If passed, the new guidelines would be bad news for Chicago’s famed bucket boys and most street performers who incorporate music into their acts.
Still, it’s not clear whether a City Council committee will hear Reilly's argument loud and clear (perhaps a megaphone or PA system would help him get his point across). In the event that Reilly's plan is approved, check out this video of an awesome drumming performance we stumbled across before similar displays are outlawed.
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