Amidst a Year Full of Deaths and Misery from the COVID-19 Pandemic Sweeping the Planet CHICAGO - December 29, 2020 - (Newswire.com) As COVID-19 began to tighten its grip on the world last April, at least one humane event made 2020 more than just a year to forget – the third largest city in the U.S. became one of a growing number of cities worldwide to ban horse-drawn carriages. Chicago's City Council overwhelmingly approved the measure to not renew licenses for horse-drawn carriages as of Jan. 1, 2021. The ordinance languished for more than two years before it came up for a vote around the time the pandemic began.