Do you boycott certain businesses?

it is not at all clear that they are in fact changing their donation policies

Even Joe Moreno, a Chicago alderman securely in the pro-homosexual camp, confirmed to WND that the company’s giving should not even have been an issue.

Responding to a question about his review of Chick-fil-A form 990 for 2011, he confirmed that there were no donations “of concern.”

He was asked, “Does the alderman reviewing the 990 for 2011 and finding no donations of concern mean that Chick-fil-A was already meeting a demand before it was even a demand since at least 2010.”

“I believe that is the case,” a statement from Moreno’s office confirmed to WND.

Nope, what I've said all along: if someone does something I find odious,
which includes but is certainly not limited to who they donate to, I'm not gonna patronize them.

The Chicago alderman who claims Chick-fil-A executives promised him the company was changing its antigay ways is now demanding an explanation for President Dan Cathy's recent behavior. And if he doesn't get one, then the alderman says Cathy can forget about expanding in Chicago

It hardly seems likely that a city government
has jurisdiction to freely decide who can do business within that city.

Aldermanic privilege refers to the power of Chicago city council members (aldermen) to initiate or block city council or city government actions concerning their own wards. Sometimes written into official council rules, it is often based on unwritten understandings among members or on arrangements with city administrators who find it expedient to routinely comply with aldermanic requests.

Mid-nineteenth-century city councils ordered street improvements and assessments to pay for them only if approved first by the local alderman, but because the alderman was expected to carefully represent local property owners, he enjoyed little independent discretion. By the 1890s, informal understandings among city council members allowed an alderman to “dry up” liquor sales in areas within his ward. As city government acted more vigorously and its regulatory powers grew, “council courtesies” gave members veto power in council votes relative to their wards, notably in cases of zoning changes and variances. Aldermen regularly intervened in city departments seeking such favors for voters as tree-cutting, alley cleaning, and permits for driveways and building conversions.

Aldermen, in turn, typically exercised this power only with the approval of their party's ward committeeman. Those aldermen who were also committeemen acted as “little mayors” of their wards. Reformers objected that aldermanic privilege led to inconsistent application of ordinances, legislative inefficiency, and outright corruption.

Aldermanic privilege reached its zenith in the mid-twentieth century. In 1955, however, Mayor Richard J. Daley centralized zoning variation and driveway permit procedures, denying aldermen veto power and concentrating decision-making in the hands of expert city officials. But changes in the zoning ordinance remain the prerogative of the council, and in the 1980s and '90s members could block city sales or acquisitions of property in their wards. Scandals spurred adoption of an ethics ordinance in 1997, making the exercise of aldermanic privilege more transparent but not eliminating it.

Should the personal opinions of a company owner affect that owner's right to do business in Chicago? City aldermen are divided on the question, but Moreno has some support from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago values. They're not respectful of our residents, our neighbors or our family members," Mayor Emanuel said.

Chick-fil-A's owner Dan Cathy -- a Christian who takes pride in his 1,600-restaurant chain's family values and its refusal to open on Sundays -- was quoted in a religious magazine saying he opposed gay marriage.

There's already a Gold Coast Chick-fil-A in downtown's 42nd Ward. The firm has applied for a second city outlet in Logan Square where Moreno vows to use his "aldermanic privilege" to refuse the company's needed permits.

"I will defend an alderman saying this is what's best for my neighborhood and I want you to respect that," Ald. Danny Solis, zoning committee chairman, said.

But the 42 ward's Brendan Reilly-- who supports gay marriage-- says there are limits to stopping a business based on what the owner believes:

"Zoning and business development I think should be done generally in a vacuum. If it's a solid business model, these folks should be given a chance to compete in the Chicago Market," Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd Ward, said.

Meanwhile other aldermen from the high-unemployment west side would love a taste of Chick-fil-A in their wards.

"Yes, if it produced jobs. And then if there was another business that they believe in gay marriage and wanted to locate in my Ward, I'd put 'em right next door to 'em," Ald. Michael Chandler, 24 Ward, said.

"We want to welcome them to our community. If Chick-fil-A wants to move a little further south, a little further west, God bless 'em," Ald. Jason Ervin, 28 Ward, said.

Although it’s not an official part of the city code, in the vast majority of cases, Chicago aldermen enjoy the power of “aldermanic privilege” when deciding what businesses receive the needed zoning to open shop in their wards.

That means, if an alderman does not support a specific project for his ward, even if most other aldermen would support it, they typically bow to their colleague’s wishes on zoning matters.

However, on rare occasions, the City Council has ignored the tradition of “aldermanic privilege,” on such matters.

Solis said that could happen in the ongoing dispute between Moreno and Chick-Fil-A if Moreno isn’t careful how he proceeds in his efforts to block the chain from opening a restaurant in Logan Square.

“I’m not going to be considering my recommendation on that item, if it gets presented to that committee based on the human rights issue,” Solis said. “I’m going to be considering it on the zoning issues, whether it’s traffic, safety, right of way issues – and that’s going to be the basis of our decision.

Public opinion on gay issues has changed dramatically in the last ten years