We'd like to wish our sponsor Marz Community Brewing Co. a hearty congratulations for being awarded a Public Place of Amusement (PPA) license from the City of Chicago for their sister business and Bridgeport neighborhood tavern: Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar .

The city shut down Maria's karaoke night for the crime of singing: something verboten under the city's ridiculous and culture-killing PPA laws and license requirements.

We've editorialized against both this and the lack of city support for small cultural operators ( "Our Neighborhood Deserves Public Places of Amusement," published Aug. 7, 2025 ), and it's great to see Maria's being able to now support events of all kinds.

We need exactly this here in McKinley Park, especially with the dearth of public places in our neighborhood, and shutdowns happening such as at 35th Street Studios.

If the city cared about preserving culture in areas that have suffered for decades from disinvestment, it would prioritize ways to preserve performance and third spaces, especially for small operators. The Department of Buildings and the city demonstrate their fecklessness and corruption by selective PPA enforcement: If an underground venue's favored by the alderperson, it seems to be able to continue to violate PPA requirements with impunity, and even partner up with the ward's elected official.

I see the straight carry-over to votes and politicking at these venues, notably when connected to "non-profit" organizations, which aren't supposed to be campaigning for political candidates. Maybe local electeds should focus more on preserving culture through public support programs for third spaces, instead of corruptly favoring some venues for the political support they offer.