This action is brought by various vendors who have sold and continue to sell peanuts outside the United Center. Jurisdiction and Venue 3. 1331 and 1337. Venue is proper in this district because defendant's offices are located in the Northern District of Illinois and the unlawful acts complained of occurred in this district. Plaintiffs, at times relevant to this Complaint, sold and continue to sell peanuts outside the United Center, in compliance with existing ordinances.
Plaintiffs purchase their peanuts from various peanut wholesalers in the Chicago area.
The wholesalers import peanuts from other states, including Georgia, for sale to the Plaintiffs and to others. Each year, Plaintiffs sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of peanuts brought to Illinois through interstate commerce. Since the ban on patrons bringing peanuts into the United Center, sales from wholesalers to the peanut vendors, and from the peanut vendors to consumers, have dropped significantly. The United Center is a joint venture doing business in Chicago, Illinois, with its principle place of business at 1901 West Madison Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The United Center joint venture owns and operates the United Center, a general purpose stadium located at 1901 W. Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois, and is the home of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls.