The Week That Was: Penny Road Pub to close, Villa Park board fires village manager

Penny Road Pub to close, at least for now

Penny Road Pub, a live rock 'n' roll venue nestled among the trees of the Barrington area for nearly 50 years, will close its doors at the end of January. But General Manager Kelly Cunningham said Monday that the shutdown may not be permanent. The building's relatively new owner hopes to buy time to work with Cook County on getting the property rezoned for the improvements he wants to make, she said.

Now it's no to downtown Des Plaines pot shop

Reversing course, the Des Plaines city council on Monday snuffed out a plan to open a cannabis dispensary downtown. A Chicago-based company called Dispensary 33 wanted to open at 1504 Miner St. A majority of city council members supported the plan two weeks earlier. But on Monday, several of those aldermen said that after speaking with constituents, they no longer think a dispensary is appropriate downtown area.

Naperville golf course work, parks in budget

Springbrook Golf Course will get a $3.4 million jolt of renovations, and two new parks will be built as part of the Naperville Park District's 2022 budget.

Rosemont selling its village hall

Rosemont is selling the eight-story office building that has doubled as its village hall since the 1980s, with plans to construct a new building that would house its municipal offices within a small entertainment district.

Villa Park board fires village manager

The Villa Park board fired the village manager in a 4-3 decision at a specially called meeting Monday. The majority of trustees voted to terminate Richard Keehner "without cause," as allowed by his contract, alluding to clashes in transparency, accountability and management style.

Dist. 158: No graduation at Willow Creek

The Huntley Unit District 158 board rejected a proposal to host Huntley High School's graduation at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington following concerns from the public about the church's stance on homosexuality.

Pot shop to open in Round Lake Beach

The first recreational cannabis dispensary in Round Lake Beach is planned to open in the spring, after approval last week by village officials. VISE Partners LLC received a special-use permit to open a shop called Altius at 993 E. Rollins Road, in an outlot in the Round Lake Commons shopping center just east of Route 83.