Kane strip club cash went to Democrats, St. Charles mayor

’Tis the season for political contributions and Blackjacks Gentlemen’s Club in St. Charles Township is no exception. The owners of the club have given $8,000 to various local Democratic politicians in Kane County.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, A & D LLC, which is owned by Anthony Buttitta of St. Charles and Dominic Buttitta of South Barrington, donated to the campaigns of Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog, State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser, St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek and Circuit Judge Kimberly DiGiovanni.

Blackjacks is owned by Elgin Entertainment Inc., another business entity whose president is listed as Anthony Buttitta, which donated to Circuit Judge Rene Cruz, according to state records.

Secretary of State business records list the Buttittas as managers for A & D LLC. Anthony Buttitta also is listed as a director, registered agent and vice president for Elgin Entertainment Inc., the business that owns the strip club at 7N657 Route 25, St. Charles Township. Anthony Buttitta and Elgin Entertainment Inc. also are listed as owners of the property.

Through an intermediary, the Buttittas declined to comment.

County offices

Two candidates defended receiving the campaign donations, while Republican opponents were critical of accepting the money.

Andrew Sosnowski, Mosser’s GOP opponent in the Nov. 5 general election for state’s attorney, said in a text that accepting such a donation “compromises the state’s attorney’s integrity and Kane County deserves better.”

“It shows very poor judgment for an elected state’s attorney to knowingly take money from the owners of that business since the business may need a political favor to get their liquor license back,” Sosnowski’s text said. “I’m running for state’s attorney because I will only be beholden to the people of this county, not people looking for political favors.”

In a text message, Sosnowski wrote that as a candidate he would avoid accepting donations from businesses that would create the appearance of impropriety.

In an email, Mosser wrote that Sosnowski’s “statements emphasize his ignorance about the State’s Attorney’s Office and what it does. It does not issue liquor licenses – that is up to the liquor commission. Moreover, I am not aware of any application for a liquor license for this business.”

Sosnowski responded in an email, calling Mosser naive for believing that influence is a function of whether her office can issue a liquor license.

During her time in office, Mosser wrote that she has received donations from local businesses, unions, attorneys and individuals.

“Not once has a ‘political favor’ been asked from anyone associated with this,” she wrote in the email.

“[He] recognizes the only way he can try to campaign against me is by passing moral judgments over legitimate businesses to distract from my accomplishments in office over these last four years,” Mosser wrote of Sosnowski. “It’s not an establishment I would ever go to, but who am I to judge how he makes his livelihood? And it is a legal business.”

Pierog declined to comment.

Lance Bell, her Republican challenger for board chair, criticized her in an email for accepting money from “a business with a notorious background in objectifying women and legal infractions.”

“This blatant hypocrisy raises serious concerns about her integrity and judgment,” Bell’s email said. “How can she claim to uphold transparency and morality while accepting money from such dubious sources? Kane County deserves a leader with unwavering principles, not one whose ethical stance shifts with financial convenience.”

Mayor, judges

Vitek said in a text that municipal government is nonpartisan and she had support and endorsements from both Democrats and Republicans.

Vitek echoed Mosser’s comments that Blackjack’s is a lawful business.

“Anthony gives to people he believes is doing a good job. I believe he chooses to donate to individuals and community organizations that he believes are doing a good job or good work,” Vitek said. “That would be my guess why he donated to our campaigns.”

Diana Law, who is part of DiGiovanni’s campaign, said judges can’t know who donates to their campaigns.

“According to the ethics of judicial canon, she is not allowed to know who donated,” Law said. “If he donated to her campaign, she would not even know about it. She has known Mr. [Anthony] Buttitta for probably 30 years and represented him on various issues. He is very politically involved.”

The rules for judges require them to keep everything separate so there is no bias when a donor might appear before a judge on the bench, Law said.

“My father donated to her campaign and she does not know about it,” Law said.

No one from Cruz’s campaign responded to a request for comment.

Blackjack’s liquor license

Minutes of the March 26, 2013, Kane County Liquor Commission show the application for a liquor license was passed on to the Kane County Board without a recommendation for or against.

The Kane County Board voted 11-10 at its April 9, 2013, meeting not to grant Blackjacks a liquor license. The sale of the business was contingent on a liquor license. In 2012, the club lost its liquor license when Anthony and Dominick Buttitta were convicted of illegal gambling and tax evasion.

The sale did not go through and the strip club continued to operate without a liquor license.

At its March 17, 2015, meeting, the Liquor Control Commission considered the liquor license request of a potential new owner who would rename Blackjacks as The Doll House.

Minutes show the commission recommended increasing the number of liquor licenses in St. Charles Township to the Kane County Board to allow The Doll House to have a license.

According to minutes of an April 14, 2015, Kane County Board meeting, the board voted 16-7 to deny a liquor license to The Doll House. As before, the sale did not go through and the club continues to operate without a liquor license.

Minutes show the reasons behind the denial included that the previous license lapsed because the owners were felons, the matter before them was a question of discretion and giving the owners a liquor license would allow them to seek a gaming license that could work against the county’s riverboat revenue.

Donations

According to records from the Illinois State Board of Elections:

• A & D LLC donated $2,000 to Pierog’s campaign, $1,500 in 2023 and $500 on May 6 this year.

• It donated $2,000 to Mosser’s campaign, $1,000 last year and $1,000 on May 8 this year.

• It donated $1,000 to DiGiovanni’s campaign in 2023. She is the presiding judge of the Family Division and is running unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election.

• It donated $1,000 to Vitek’s campaign June 21.

• The company that owns Blackjack’s, Elgin Entertainment Inc., donated $2,000 in 2022 to Cruz’s unsuccessful campaign for the Illinois Supreme Court. Cruz was appointed in 2012 as an associate judge and was elected as a circuit judge in 2018. He is the presiding judge of the traffic and misdemeanor division and specialty treatment for DUI.

According to its website, Blackjacks was nominated for a 2023 ED’s Award at the annual Adult Nightclub & Exotic Dancer awards show.