Asking The Right Questions

Greg Kot gets Alderman Schulter on the record after the promoters' ordinance gets tabled. The key exchange (emphasis added):

Q: What are the key issues that need to be resolved before you can move forward with this ordinance?

A: One of the key ones is the one dealing with insurance [for independent promoters]. What are the costs? Do we really need the requirement if the venue operator provides insurance coverage already? And we need to look at the cost of a new license as well, especially for the small promoter. In the original ordinance there was one flat fee, and now there are four levels [ranging from $500 to $2,000]. But for the promoter who does only a few events a year, we need to look at the costs to them. The idea is to have a way of holding people accountable, but the question is how do you get to that goal? Everyone agrees we need a way to address that issue, especially with the industry growing by leaps and bounds with the use of the Web. We need to listen to everyone and figure out the best way possible to do it.

From my point of view, these were the two biggest problems with the ordinance as drafted. I'm still not sold on saveourculture.org's interpretation that bands booking themselves could be considered independent promoters, but maybe they were right and the histrionics were warranted. Schulter's office is right down the street from my apartment, so maybe I'll drop by and ask.