Town of Cicero limits sales of alcohol to 12 Midnight
Beginning January 1, 2025, bars and restaurants that are currently licensed to sell alcohol, individually or packaged will be forced to end those sales as of 12 midnight in the Town of Cicero, a suburban Chicago community of about 110,000 people including 30,000 undocumented residents. Currently, liquor sales end at 2 AM (and 3 AM on Saturdays). The new law would immediatey impact any new liquor license approval. The legislation is intended to reduce vandalism and violence associated with late night drinkers, Cicero Town President Larry Dominick said.
Cicero, IL — The Town of Cicero on Tuesday voted to change the closing time for all businesses that sale alcohol, from 2 AM to 12 midnight.
President Larry Dominick said that the purpose is to address problems that have been associated with many of the Town’s 110 establishments with liquor licenses which include bars and restaurants.
The ban includes the sale of individual alcoholic drinks and packaged sales
“We continue to have problems with several of the businesses that sell liquor including several bars and several restaurants and these problems have been placing a strain on our police department, siphoning resources away from addressing other safety issues,” said Town President Larry Dominick.
“We have several establishments that have problems every weekend, in the morning hours at 2 AM. All of the establishments are located adjacent to residential neighborhoods and the problems are impacting our residents. My priority is to protect our residents which is the reason for this ordinance change.”
The new law only takes effect for current licensed businesses beginning on January 1, 2025 when license renewals are required. Until then, the old closing times will remain in effect, President Dominick said after the new ordinance was approved at the board meeting Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
The ordinance will take effect immediately for new license application approvals.
It prohibits the sale of ALL alcohol (open or packaged) after 12 midnight
During the meeting several bar and restaurant/bar owners addressed the board including one that the President singled out as having constant problems
President Dominick said that the establishments are not doing enough to prevent violence, fights, loud noises, disruptions to residential neighbors adjacent to and near their businesses … there have been instances where bar patrons have fired weapons outside the bars and that the problems usually all occur after midnight … around 1 and 2 AM
President Dominick said he would organize a meeting to hear solutions to the problem from the bar and bar/restaurant owners and said they have until Jan. 1, 2025 to help resolve the increased problems.
Cicero has some 84,000 residents according to the US Census, and an additional 30,000 undocumented residents who he said are his priority and need to be protected from the violence and problems spilling out from alcohol consumption and sales late at night.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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