Politics & Government

Village Board Bits: Alcohol Code Reviewed, Triple Play Crowd Control Addressed

The New Lenox trustees also annexed new land into the village, granted a liquor license and cut a monthly board meeting.

The New Lenox Village Board reviewed an ordinance Monday night that amends the village code regarding alcoholic beverages. The 48-page ordinance goes into great detail to outline various liquor license classifications that Mayor Tim Baldermann said will help the village “cover all of our bases.”

The ordinance defines various types of licenses, instead of requiring the village to create a new type of license every time a different establishment comes into town. For instance, it includes language about hotels, which are projected to come here in the next couple years.

It also provides more protection for the village during license renewals in cases that a business no longer falls under the license classification it was given (for example, if a business is licensed as a restaurant, but given various circumstances begins to primarily sell alcohol). The board will vote on this at its next meeting.

Find out what's happening in New Lenoxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

More from the Meeting

Land Annexed: The area just north of Route 30, close to Walmart, continues to develop. On Monday night, the Village Board annexed 12.5 acres of vacant land into its boundaries and rezoned it for commercial use. The land, which is north of the former Mobil gas station, is "not ideal for prime retail," village planning administrator Robin Ellis said at a previous meeting. At that same meeting, the developer outlined a couple possible uses for the property, including self-storage or senior housing.

Board Meetings Cut: The village board will drop one of its three monthly meetings until further notice. Currently, the board meets the second, third and fourth Mondays of each month, but will now meet only the second and fourth Mondays. Recently, there have been a number of 15- to 30-minute meetings, something Baldermann attributed to the poor economy and thus a decrease in home and business issues. By cutting one meeting, the village won't need to bring in staff and keep the building open an additional night, which will provide some cost savings.

Wounded Warriors: The village granted a liquor license to the Wounded Warriors Project, a police escorted motorcycle run that starts at the Village Commons. The event begins at 10 a.m. Aug. 28 with a pancake breakfast, with bikes heading out at noon. Three live bands will perform, and tickets are $15 per person. All proceeds benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, which raises money for injured military personnel. for more information, go to wwpilrun.com.

Triple Play Crowd Control: Some readers complained that crowd control was poor during the , and Mayor Tim Baldermann said Monday that he was only aware of one incident in which someone was far too drunk and rowdy. He said the police took care of the situation, and warned concertgoers who plan to be at the REO Speedwagon show in September that they’ll be ejected immediately if they’re too drunk. “There is going to be a zero tolerance policy,” Baldermann said. “If you can’t handle your alcohol, stay home and listen to the radio.”

Find out what's happening in New Lenoxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New Fines Approved: The board reviewed an ordinance to update fines for violations of village code, increasing the tickets for many offenses from $25 to $50. Go here for a full breakdown: Twice the Price: BB Guns, Loitering and Other Village Fines Could Increase


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