St. Charles to revisit suspension of late-night bar permits

In a split vote Monday, the St. Charles city council approved a motion to revisit the suspension of late-night bar permits that went into effect in late August after an executive order by Mayor Ray Rogina later approved by the city council.

A proposal by Ward 4 Alderman David Pietryla and seconded by Ward 2 Alderman Art Lemke will advance as an agenda item at the Oct. 19 city council meeting. The proposal would allow the 24 St. Charles bars and restaurants that had their late-night permits suspended - forcing them to close at midnight in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 - to remain open until 1 or 2 a.m. depending on the specified time on their permits.

Patrons would be allowed to remain until 1 or 2 a.m., but no new patrons would be allowed to enter after midnight. Late-night permit fees refunded by the city to the affected bars would not have to be repaid.

"I was supportive of (the executive order), but I'm a thoughtful person and I thought more about it and talked to my colleagues," Pietryla said. "Let's take a middle-ground approach."

Seven aldermen voted in favor of the proposal while Ward 1 Alderman Ron Silkaitis, Ward 2 Alderman Rita Payleitner and Ward 5 Alderman Maureen Lewis voted against it. Should the Oct. 19 city council vote end in a 5-5 tie, Rogina said Monday he'd break the tie by voting against the proposal and keeping the late-night permit suspension in place.

"We have to keep looking out for each other," Rogina said. "We certainly do have to strike a balance between a health crisis and an economic balance. It can't be one-sided one way or the other, and I think this council up to this point has tried its best to do exactly that."

Bar owners and managers spoke at the Sept. 21 meeting to ask that the late-night permit suspension be reconsidered. The aldermen initially decided to talk about the issue at the Oct. 19 meeting but pushed up the discussion to Monday after a city council weekend retreat.

"We make our living late night," Ed Simbol, owner of Ed's Basement, said Monday. "I just find it disturbing that you could pass this ordinance and sit back and watch the demise of the restaurant business."

Rogina disagreed with that assertion, insisting the city has done all it can to support bars and restaurants.

"That's an important part of our community," Rogina said. "We're trying our best to keep it afloat during COVID."