Less Government? Or Bad Idea?

On one hand, less government is better government. On the other, the potential for abuse or connected firms slipping through the cracks is, needless to say, almost expected in Chicago:

• Chicago retailers that sell pre-packaged foods and recently inspected restaurants with no history of foodborne illness would police themselves and send inspection reports to City Hall, under a “self-certification” plan advanced Tuesday to free inspectors to focus on “high-risk” establishments.

  Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan, approved by the City Council’s Committee on Budget and Government Operations, would apply to roughly 2,500 of the city’s 15,000 licensed food establishments.

  The group would include grocery stores, gas stations and other “low-risk” stores that primarily sell beverages and pre-packaged foods and engage in minimal handling or preparation of food.

  Self-certification would also be open to restaurants that have passed inspections in the prior year, have not been closed for food safety issues for 36 months and “not implicated as a source of food borne outbreak” in the past three years.

15,000 food establishments. Only 32 inspectors citywide.

We're going to go with the "less is better."