ChicagoThese Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of ChicagoSpecials.com (the "Site"), operated by Chicago Specials ("Chicago Specials," "we," "us"). By using the Site — including creating an account, submitting a nomination, uploading a photo, suggesting a special, or claiming a business listing — you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the Site. See also our Privacy PolicyTerms, which covers how we handle your information.
What Chicago Specials Is
Chicago Specials is a guide to real, current happy hours, food and drink specials, and neighborhood gems around Chicago, built and maintained by a father-son team with help from our community. Business information, hours, and specials are gathered from a mix of business owners (marked "Verified by owner") and community submissions (marked "Community-sourced"). We do our best to keep listings accurate, but we can't guarantee that every price, hour, or special is current — always worth a quick check with the business directly before you make a special trip.
Accounts
You need an account (via Google, Apple, email/password, or phone number sign-in) to nominate a business, add a photo, suggest a special, or claim a listing. You're responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for any activity under your account. We may suspend or terminate an account that violates these Terms, submits false information, or abuses the site's contribution features.
Content You Submit
This section covers anything you submit to the Site — photos, captions, nominations, suggested specials, business claim details, and similar content ("Your Content").
You keep ownership; you grant us a license to use it. You retain whatever rights you have in Your Content. By submitting it, you grant Chicago Specials a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual license to host, store, reproduce, display, publish, and distribute Your Content on the Site and in our promotional materials (social media, email newsletter, press materials), with attribution where practical.
You confirm it's actually yours to share. By submitting a photo or any other content, you represent and warrant that: (1) you took the photo yourself or otherwise have the right and permission to submit and license it to us as described above; (2) it doesn't infringe anyone else's copyright, trademark, privacy, or other rights; and (3) it doesn't contain anything unlawful, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate for a public, family-friendly local guide.
We review before anything goes live. All submitted photos, specials, and nominations go through a manual approval process before publishing — submitting something doesn't guarantee it will be posted. We may reject, edit for clarity/formatting, or remove any submission at our sole discretion, at any time, for any reason (or no reason), including after it's already been published.
You're responsible for what you submit. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Chicago Specials, its founders, and anyone acting on our behalf from any claim, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from Your Content or from your violation of these Terms — for example, a copyright claim from someone else because you uploaded a photo you didn't have the rights to.
Reporting a problem with someone else's submission. If you believe a photo or piece of content on the Site infringes your rights or shouldn't be there, email chicagospecials@gmail.com with a description and location (URL) of the content, and we'll review and remove it if warranted.
Business Listings, Claims & Nominations
Nominating a business or submitting a claim doesn't guarantee it will be listed, verified, or featured — nominations and claims are reviewed by hand. Business owners who claim a listing represent that they're authorized to act on that business's behalf and that the information they submit is accurate to the best of their knowledge. We reserve the right to decline, edit, or remove any listing, claim, or nomination.
Acceptable Use
You agree not to: submit false or misleading information (including fake nominations, reviews, or claims); upload content you don't have rights to; use the Site to harass, spam, or impersonate someone; attempt to scrape, copy, or systematically extract the Site's data beyond normal browsing; or interfere with the Site's normal operation.
Disclaimer of Warranties
The Site and all content on it are provided "as is," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We don't guarantee that specials, hours, prices, or other business details are current, complete, or error-free at any given moment. Your use of any information on the Site — including deciding to visit a business based on a listed special — is at your own discretion and risk.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Chicago Specials and its founders won't be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Site, reliance on its content, or your interactions with any business listed on it. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Site is limited to the amount (if any) you've paid us in the twelve months before the claim, which for most users is zero.
Third-Party Links & Businesses
The Site links to and describes independent, third-party businesses we don't own or control. We're not responsible for those businesses' products, service, policies, or conduct. Any dealings you have with a listed business are between you and that business.
Changes to the Site or These Terms
We may update these Terms as the Site grows; we'll update the "Last updated" date above when we do. Continued use of the Site after a change means you accept the updated Terms. We may also modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time.
Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Site will be handled in the state or federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois.
Contact
Questions about these Terms? Email chicagospecials@gmail.com.
