The owner of the West Side hot dog stand Felony Franks was finally allowed to hang a sign on his business after a two-year struggle with city officials.
Felony Franks is a business that prides itself in employing convicts, selling items such as the "misdemeanor weiner," the "cell mate dog" or the "pardon Polish."
Owner Jim Andrews has faced opposition from Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd), who refused to approve the sign with that worry that the name of the business glorified crime and could damage the reputation of the Near West Side neighborhood.
Following a tie city council committee vote in May, Andrews filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of denying free-speech rights to the hot dog stand.
Another committee vote in June prompted a recommendation to approve the sign, which the full city council complied with and signed off a few day late, reports the Chicago Tribune.
The new sign displays a smiling hot dog in prison garb in front of a jail cell. A caption at the top of the sign reads, "Food so good it's criminal."
