Federal lawsuit targets Chicago's Signature Room for abrupt closure

CHICAGO - Last week's abrupt closure of Chicago's iconic Signature Room has triggered a federal lawsuit against the restaurant's operators, who are accused of breaking the law, according to the workers' union.

Employees of the renowned Signature Room were met with a closure notice when they arrived for work at the former Hancock Center last Thursday. The union representing 132 restaurant workers alleges that this abrupt shutdown violates state law.

Unite Here Local 1 wasted no time in filing a lawsuit, asserting that the employer failed to provide the mandated 60-day notice of closure or mass layoffs. The lawsuit names Infusion Management Group, the operator of the restaurant. The union is seeking compensation for employees, the retention of health insurance, and other benefits for the required 60-day period, as stipulated by state law.

Karen Kent, the union president, empathized with the affected workers.

"There's people who had worked there 30 years. If you can imagine working your whole life, and a significant amount of people had worked there 15 years, so people who spend their whole lives going to work, raising their families, putting their kids through school ... and not feeling like anybody even showed up to talk to you," Kent said.

In addition to the lawsuit, the union has also lodged a complaint with the State Labor Department.