Elgin club looks to stay open until 6 a.m., offer teen night

A nightclub in downtown Elgin plans to stay open until 6 a.m. on weekends and offer "teen nights" for kids 13 and older.

Medusa, 209 E. Chicago Street, currently has a 4 a.m. liquor license on weekends but got approval for the changes Wednesday from the liquor control commission. Final approval is needed from the city council, whose nine members also serve as liquor commissioners.

The club, which is celebrating its 20th year in Elgin, would like to start offering teen nights for 13- to 16-year-olds, likely on Saturdays, sometime this summer, owner Dave Shelton said.

Teen nights would end at 10 p.m. and, like the club's "young adult nights" for ages 17 and older, will be in designated areas with no alcohol, he said. "I have a lot of requests for it. Things like quinceanera parties, birthday parties," he said.

Currently, Fridays are 21 and older throughout the nightclub, while the 17 and older crowd has use of the second floor, called "Jet," on Saturdays, Shelton said.

Shelton also got permission from the panel to operate seven nights a week and hold young adult nights up to three times a week. He has no immediate plans to do so but wanted to keep his options open, he said.

Although the club is doing OK, Elgin is not an easy place for business, Shelton said. "Elgin is a struggle," he said. "It's a destination place. There is nothing to feed off."

Liquor commissioners asked about police reports regarding any incidents at Medusa.

Records show there were 24 calls for service and three arrests from Feb. 9, 2015, through March 15, 2016. The arrests involved a patron slashing another patron in the arm, a patron who had been escorted out displaying a gun from a car, and another patron who had been escorted out assaulting a security employee, Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley said.

Cogley pointed out the club is proactive in calling police and pressing charges when there are incidents, which the city encourages business owners to do, he said.

Councilman Rich Dunne cast the only dissenting vote to the night club's liquor license changes, saying he has safety concerns about allowing teens in the club. Dunne said that, when he served as fire marshal eight or more years ago, he was shown a photo of a barred fire exit door at the club. The owner denied that happened, Dunne said.