Chicago liquor license moratoriums: bans on Cottage Grove, State and 75th; openings in the West Loop

New liquor licenses are off the table along Cottage Grove, State Street and stretches of 71st, 75th and 79th in the 6th Ward, while a handful of blocks in the West Loop, on Grand Avenue and on Stony Island are open to them again.

That is the net result of nine ordinances the City Council passed on Sept. 23, all by a 50-0 vote and without debate, after the Committee on License and Consumer Protection heard them on Sept. 9. Each adds or removes a few blocks from the lists in Sections 4-60-022 and 4-60-023 of the Municipal Code: streets where no new license to sell liquor for drinking on the premises, or no new package goods license for carry-out sales, may be issued.

Where did the Council close the door?

All three new moratoriums are in the 6th Ward, sponsored by Ald. William Hall, and each bars both kinds of licenses:

• O2026-0027185: Cottage Grove Avenue from 71st Street to 75th Street.
• O2026-0027270: State Street from 95th Street to 66th Street.
• O2026-0027297: 75th Street from Vincennes Avenue to Cottage Grove Avenue, 79th Street from State Street to Cottage Grove Avenue, and 71st Street from Vincennes Avenue to Cottage Grove Avenue.

Hall gave the License Committee two reasons.

"we have over the last three years built a community engagement process that all zoning matters all licensing matters put in the hands of the community and so as we look at reimagining our corridors uh where residents literally live next door and sometimes above we want to make sure that they are well aware of and have voice and democracy in the process of liquor licenses"

Before that, he said the areas his office identified had been oversaturated with liquor. No committee member asked a question; the three passed on a voice vote.

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A fourth closing came from the 1st Ward. O2026-0025816, sponsored by Ald. Daniel La Spata, restores a package goods moratorium on Fullerton Avenue from Western Avenue to Rockwell Street. A staff member from La Spata's office told the committee the ward had lifted that moratorium so a long-standing package goods store could transfer to a new owner; with no complaints since, the office put the moratorium back.

Where did the Council open it?

In the 34th Ward, Ald. William Conway sponsored two. O2026-0026831 allows package goods licenses on the east side of Jefferson Street from Van Buren Street to Jackson Boulevard and the south side of Jackson from Jefferson to Clinton Street. O2026-0027178 allows on-premises liquor licenses on the south side of Randolph Street from Clinton to Jefferson, the east side of Jefferson from Randolph to Washington Boulevard, and the north side of Washington from Jefferson to Clinton. A staff member from Conway's office told the committee the first is for a new location of L&M Fine Foods, which now operates in the 47th Ward, and the second is for a restaurant going in at 565 West Randolph.

In the 42nd Ward, Ald. Brendan Reilly's O2026-0027186 reopens the south side of Washington from the Chicago River to Canal Street, the east side of Canal from Washington to Madison Street, and the north side of Madison from Canal to the river, to package goods licenses.

"This is to allow for a grab-and-go market inside two North Riverside. It'll be limited beer, wine, and seltzer products."

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Back in the 1st Ward, La Spata and Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) co-sponsored O2026-0027169, which strikes the package goods moratorium on the south side of Grand Avenue from Racine Avenue to Noble Street.

Ald. Michelle Harris (8th Ward) sponsored O2026-0027472, which deletes the package goods moratorium on Stony Island Avenue from 87th Street to 89th Street.

"this was an expansion of a business and they needed to open a moratorium and two so they can expand their business"

How did the vote go?

The committee's chair, Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th Ward), reported the batch to the Council on Sept. 23 as 10 ordinances regarding liquor moratoriums in the 1st, 6th, 8th, 30th, 34th and 42nd wards. They passed by the same roll call the Council used for the first item of the Finance Committee report, which recorded all 50 alderpersons as yes, with an unsuccessful motion to reconsider by Ald. Gregory Mitchell (7th Ward).

Yea Nay

1Daniel La Spata: Yea2Brian Hopkins: Yea3Pat Dowell: Yea4Lamont J. Robinson: Yea5Desmon C. Yancy: Yea6William E. Hall: Yea7Gregory I. Mitchell: Yea8Michelle A. Harris: Yea9Anthony Beale: Yea10Peter Chico: Yea11Nicole T. Lee: Yea12Julia M. Ramirez: Yea13Marty Quinn: Yea14Jeylú B. Gutiérrez: Yea15Raymond A. Lopez: Yea16Stephanie D. Coleman: Yea17David H. Moore: Yea18Derrick G. Curtis: Yea19Matthew J. O'Shea: Yea20Jeanette B. Taylor: Yea21Ronnie L. Mosley: Yea22Michael D. Rodriguez: Yea23Silvana Tabares: Yea24Monique L. Scott: Yea25Byron Sigcho-López: Yea26Jessica L. Fuentes: Yea27Walter R. Burnett: Yea28Jason C. Ervin: Yea29Chris Taliaferro: Yea30Ruth Cruz: Yea31Felix Cardona Jr.: Yea32Scott Waguespack: Yea33Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez: Yea34William Conway: Yea35Anthony J. Quezada: Yea36Gilbert Villegas: Yea37Emma Mitts: Yea38Nicholas Sposato: Yea39Samantha Nugent: Yea40Andre Vasquez Jr.: Yea41Anthony V. Napolitano: Yea42Brendan Reilly: Yea43Timothy R. Knudsen: Yea44Bennett R. Lawson: Yea45James M. Gardiner: Yea46Angela Clay: Yea47Matthew J. Martin: Yea48Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth: Yea49Maria E. Hadden: Yea50Debra L. Silverstein: Yea

O2026-0027270: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

What it means on your block

• In Chatham and Grand Crossing, no new bar, restaurant liquor license or liquor store can open on Cottage Grove between 71st and 75th, on State from 66th to 95th, or on the named stretches of 71st, 75th and 79th. Existing licenses are not affected.
• In the West Loop, a food store and a restaurant have a path to licenses near Jefferson and Randolph, and a market at Two North Riverside can sell beer, wine and seltzer.
• On Grand near Racine, and on Stony Island at 87th, package goods licenses are possible again.