“The distinctive sound of hooves clip-clopping along downtown streets will soon become a relic of a bygone era.
“The Chicago City Council on Friday approved a ban on horse-drawn carriages in Chicago starting Jan. 1, 2021 ending a debate that raged for years and often turned deeply personal. Alds. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward), David Moore (17th Ward), Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward) and Emma Mitts (37th Ward) voted no.
“Members of the Chicago Alliance for Animals pressured aldermen to ban the ‘archaic, inhumane’ practice before a horse died on Chicago’s streets. However, operators of some of the 10 firms licensed to operate horse-drawn carriages pleaded with aldermen to let them keep rolling around the Water Tower and along the Magnificent Mile, flooded aldermen with objections and said they love their horses and would never allow them to be mistreated.
“Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) said in March that the 10 horse-drawn carriages operating in Chicago racked up ‘hundreds of violations’ by ‘refusing to follow basic rules of the road.’ (Cherone, 4/24/20)