Joliet limits packaged liquor sales at taverns

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday voted 5-3 to limit packaged liquor sales at taverns to no later than midnight.

The divided vote came after a debate over whether the new rule would have any effect on problems that erupt in parking lots parties outside bars with the Class A license allowing packaged liquor sales.

Thomas Knorr, owner of Sidelines Sports Bar in the Marycrest Shopping Center along Jefferson Street, said parking lot partiers are not getting their liquor from his bar.

“They pull into the parking lot,” Knorr said. “They already have their liquor. Their plan is to party until 4.”

Sidelines has a 3 a.m. license for both drinks at the bar and packaged liquor sales.

The ordinance amendment approved by the council bans packaged liquor sales after midnight, which is the same time that liquor stores must close.

The same rule applies to all 28 Joliet bars and taverns that have a Class A license allowing packaged liquor sales along with bar drinks.

The ordinance change also bars the issuance of any additional Class A liquor licenses.

Sidelines Sports Bar was the focus of the Tuesday debate in part because Knorr showed up to contest the new rules and because the problems outside the bar in part motivated the new rules.

Council member Susanna Ibarra, who lives near the Marycrest Shopping Center and represents the council district that includes the location, said problems are not only occurring in the parking lot outside Sidelines.

“They have problems inside and outside,” Ibarra said. “It’s a very serious safety issue for the city. It’s a safety issue for the residents.”

Council member Joe Clement, a retired Joliet police officer formerly assigned to the liquor commissioner’s office, said parking lot party problems are not necessarily linked to the nearby bars and agreed that troublemakers typically show up with their own liquor.

“I don’t believe this ordinance – it’s not going to solve anything," Clement said. “I think what we need to do is more enforcement on our end.”

Clement and council members Larry Hug and Jan Quillman voted against the ordinance change.

Mayor Terry D’Arcy and council members Sherri Reardon, Cesar Cardenas, Juan Moreno, Sherri Reardon and Ibarra voted for it.

The Class A license is a throwback to the days of neighborhood taverns, according to a staff memo on the proposed changes.

“As neighborhood taverns go by the wayside, this option inadvertently creates liquor stores, which remain open until 3 a.m., whereas a true liquor store [Class C license] must close at midnight,” according to the memo. “In recent months, late-night liquor sales have led to complaints from residents and often require police intervention.”

Taverns with Class A licenses can start selling packaged liquor at 6 a.m.