Proposal would ensure public toilet access in emergency

When nature calls, rookie Ald. David Moore wants Chicago businesses to listen.

Moore wants every licensed business with a public restroom - including restaurants, bars, hotels and retail stores - to be required to make washrooms available to "individuals who have an emergency … without having to make a purchase" or pay a fee.

Moore introduced the ordinance at Wednesday's City Council meeting after running into a humiliated woman at a Subway restaurant two weeks ago who had just had an accident after being denied entry to a public washroom.

Currently, public washrooms must be made available to non-customers for "medical emergencies only." For the full story, click here.