Chicago Rejects $20 Taste

Daley said he wanted to keep it free

The City of Chicago has officially rejected a proposal to privatize the Taste of Chicago, and other lakefront festivals.

Officials told Celebrate Chicago, the company that had bid on the job, to take a hike.

"After careful consideration, the City of Chicago today rejected a proposal from [Celebrate Chicago LLC]," the City of Chicago's Office of Budget and Management said in a press release Tuesday.

"While Celebrate Chicago is an experienced special events team that is qualified to manage and operate the lakefront festivals, we believe the proposed entry fee for the taste of Chicago is unacceptable for Chicagoans and our visitors," said Budget Director Eugene Munin.

Late last year, Celebrate Chicago LLC, a private events management  company, proposed to manage and operate the city's lakefront festivals, including the Taste of Chicago.

The original plan presented by the company included a $20 entrance fee to the Taste of Chicago but was later cut down to $10 

Even after the financial plan was revised, the City still disagreed with the company's proposal.

Munin said that "the City has been preparing for this potential outcome and will now continue with executing the Taste of Chicago in-house, as well as the other festival."

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