Some stories leave you with complicated, conflicted feelings. Plenty of people are likely to see The Wall Street Journal's story about Felony Franks as one such.

A businessman opens a hot-dog stand on Chicago's West Side with its wide swaths of poverty, gangs and violence.

He's got what is certainly a unique marketing concept. He calls the business Felony Franks and hires a workforce of ex-convicts. He would like to franchise the idea, envisioning Felony Franks from coast to coast, providing ex-offenders with a second chance.

Who can be against ex-offenders getting employed and being given a chance to straighten out their lives and become productive members of society?

Well, there are some who believe James Andrews, the businessman, with his marketing gimmick, is exploiting the ex-offenders with his "misdemeanor wieners" etc.

 

An excerpt from the WSJ story:

Customers enter a cramped space framed by cinder-block walls, with no tables or chairs. Near the entrance hangs a mock list of Miranda rights: "You have the right to remain hungry. Anything you order can and will be used to feed you here at Felony Franks."

Servers standing behind bulletproof plastic — standard for stores in the neighborhood — ask customers, "Are you ready to plead your case?" Among other dishes, the menu lists the Misdemeanor Wiener and the Chain Gang Chili Dog. Side orders, such as fries, cole slaw and garlic bread, are dubbed "accomplices." The restaurant's slogan is, "Food so good it's criminal.

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Jerry Tassos, left, and owner Jim Andrews clean the sidewalk in April as they prepare to open 'Felony Franks.' The Chicago hot-dog stand employs released convicts and has stirred up community opposition to its name and advertising efforts.

Some customers just laugh. Others who live nearby think the penal puns are an affront to a community grappling with crime and trying to change for the better.

Michael Cunningham, a 10-year resident and member of the Homeowners of West Town, says the neighborhood already is home to several drug-rehabilitation centers and facilities for former prisoners. He says the neighborhood group successfully fought the establishment of another halfway house and will soon get a new grocery store. "There are positive things happening here and Felony Franks is a step back," says Mr. Cunningham, a self-employed career

It's hard to find fault a business owner who wants to hire ex-offenders for legitimate work.

But to the critics' point, it does seem like there is already too much in places like Chicago's West Side that send children in such neighborhoods the message that prison into an almost obligatory waystation. If Felony Franks helps make one more child believe that prison is an expected rite of passage for a ghetto kid, then that's a problem.