Elgin council favors 2 a.m. closing time for Smooth Fox bar
Elgin officials want a downtown bar to close by 2 a.m. to try to prevent further disturbances in the early morning hours, the latest one involving a woman who fired two warning shots outside.
Smooth Fox, which opened in June at 51 S. Grove Ave., is connected to 12 police reports, including the Dec. 17 shooting involving a Chicago woman, plus three batteries and six fights, one including a man arrested on gun charges, Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley said Wednesday at a liquor control commission meeting.
About 20 residents of Fountain Square On The River condos, across the street from Smooth Fox, attended the meeting; one of the Dec. 17 bullets hit the building, they said.
The commission voted 4-3 to change the E-1 liquor license held by Smooth Fox and others, which currently requires liquor sales to stop at 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 a.m. on weekdays but allows establishments to stay open after they stop serving liquor because they are classified as restaurants.
The liquor commission comprises all nine city council members, two of whom were absent Wednesday.
Mayor David Kaptain and council members Rich Dunne, Terry Gavin and John Steffen voted in favor of the change, while council members Tish Powell, John Prigge and Carol Rauschenberger voted against it.
The city council will cast a final vote at a future meeting.
Smooth Fox owner Justin Hodge objected to the change. He said he always closes no later than 3:30 a.m., which allows patrons to order food and "sober up" after he stops selling liquor, and will lose money if he is forced to close earlier.
Steffen said "it's good policy" to make the change to prevent future issues with Smooth Fox or any other establishments. Cogley said he contacted others with E-1 licenses and all said the change wouldn't affect the way they do business.
Dunne pointed out a clear 2 a.m. closing time will allow police to better keep an eye out at the end of the night, when most incidents occur.
Hodge said he welcomes police presence but not police responding "with the whole cavalry" to each incident.
But resident Robert Carson said he's concerned about the incidents at the bar across the street from his condo. "I'm not a fan that the Smooth Fox has brought gun violence to my neighborhood," he said.
A bouncer checks patrons for guns after 11 p.m., Hodge said, but Carson said he wants no guns in there, period.
Guns are prohibited in establishments where more than 50 percent of revenues are from alcohol; Smooth Fox has a liquor license that requires more than 50 percent of revenues from food, which the restaurant will have to prove when its license is up for renewal in a few months.
Prigge said he voted "no" because he wanted to give Hodge - who showed up late for the meeting after unexpectedly having to pick up his daughter from basketball practice, he said - a chance to answer questions before making up his mind.
Powell said she understood the concerns raised but also wanted to make sure all establishments are treated equally when there are police-related incidents.
Butch Stege, vice president of the homeowners association for Fountain Square, said the previous two establishments at that location - Mad Maggie's, later renamed The Hangout, and Mr. Tequila's - caused some problems, but not to the extent that Smooth Fox has. "I think they should close it," he said.
Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin Executive Director Deirdre White said she's received several complaints about Smooth Fox from residents and business owners.
Hodge said he plans to come with supporters and his attorney at the next meeting.