Ice cream trucks roam Elgin after ban ends
Familiar summertime jingles finally are drifting through the air in Elgin, with the No. 1 ice cream truck sticker going to the man who petitioned to overturn a 45-year ban.
"It feels great," Jim Cremeens said Monday, as he was getting ready to drive his ice cream truck around the west side of Elgin. The Elgin resident contacted the city last summer and the city council granted his wish last month.
Cremeens was the first to apply for a permit, but ice cream truck owner Ziyad Al-Asuli - who was issued the No. 2 sticker - was the first to hit the streets in Elgin last week. That's because Cremeens' permit issuance was slightly delayed when the city needed additional information, said Brad Bohner, the city's public health coordinator.
"I'm doing this for almost 15 years," said Al-Asuli, of Des Plaines. "Thank God (the ban is no more). ... Everybody is all excited."