An outdoor dining program that proved to be a lifesaver for Chicago restaurants and bars during the darkest days of the pandemic would be made permanent — and expanded into the curb lane — under a mayoral plan proposed Wednesday.
Last year, the City Council agreed to extend — until Dec. 31, 2022 — a program that had allowed 500 restaurants and bars to place tables on sidewalks, in private parking lots and in the street to serve patrons skittish about dining and drinking indoors.
