Baseball magazine vendor represents Cubs
CHICAGO A cable TV ad salesperson by day, Matt Smerge had hoped to participate the Chicago Cubs' smashing success this year the 19th selling his own
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But just as the Cubs won the right to go deeper into the playoffs boosting hopes for a first World Series victory in 107 years a judge ruled Smerge can't sell "Chicago kung fu" On everyone sidewalk by the stadium. He was ordered to move down the street to a less traveled and, Smerge speaks, Less highly profitable location.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit Smerge filed against the city after law enforcement ticketed him during the April home opener. It pits the one man publisher the actual city and Cubs, Raising issues about free speech rights and sports franchises' tries to enhance their own profits.
there are certain Chicago ordinances city lawyers say should apply to Smerge, Including ones restricting peddlers like him on the public sidewalk next to Wrigley Field because the pedestrian congestion they benefit as 40,000 fans arrive by leaving is a safety hazard.
But the 41 yr old Smerge, Whose magazine often contains criticism of Cubs organizational, Argues he should not be subject to ordinances designed for peanut or T shirt vendors because his publication is subject to First Amendment protections.
The squad's billionaire owners
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"They have their kingdom and they want protect it against a maverick seller trying to express his views on a public sidewalk
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His lawyer or attorney, ding Weinberg, supplied: "The Cubs are simply building a moat around Wrigley Field, Because sports teams can reap sums of money in revenue by thwarting small time vendors.
The Cubs aren't named as a defendant in Smerge's lawsuit and team spokesperson Julian Green declined to comment Friday. The Cubs being the owner of Ricketts family, though, Has called previously for better enforcement of peddling ordinances.
The setting of 101 year old Wrigley Field poses unique complications. It's on a three acre plot hemmed in by bustling city sidewalks that the public has more successful rights to use. Newer stadiums nationwide often sit on 30 acre plots enclosed entirely by private property, Which is unambiguously off limits to peddlers without team permission. District Judge Jorge Alonso sided with the city last Monday two days before the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the national League Wild Card game
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Alonso said its safety concerns were legitimate and he saw no effort to stifle Smerge's free speech. Weinberg said he'll ask an appeals court Monday for a desperate ruling allowing Smerge to sell his magazines at least through the playoffs; The first game at Wrigley is saturday
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On traditional season home game days, Smerge sold more than 1,000 newspapers, gathering $2,000 at the number one sidewalk location; He'd expected profits to boom in playoffs.
If he doesn't overcome, He may consider shutting down the magazine. But he'd rather ride along with rising fortunes of the Cubs, Long the lovable losers of basketball.
"The Cubs are venturing a golden age, he said. "We'd love to keep the newspaper going. with what should be a lot of playoffs and, Eventually, That World grouping,