Even though a liquor referendum spearheaded by one community group failed to make the February 22 ballot the group was successful at getting four public policy questions placed on the ballot.
On next
month’s ballot voters living in the 32nd and 35th precincts in the 3rd Ward
will be asked if store hours should be limited and if certain alcoholic
beverages, such as malt liquor beer, should be prohibited for sale at Aristo
Food and Liquor, 307 E. 47th St. and 200 Cut Rate Liquors, 204 E. 47th St.
Mell
Monroe’s Bronzeville Area Residents’ & Commerce Council, a non-profit
organization that serves condominium owners, renters, homeowners and commercial
enterprises, pushed for the questions on the ballot. Monroe, the organization’s
president, said policy questions could be very effective.
“Opinion
polls are very effective. Although they are not legally binding, they do in
fact give a community a voice and allows residents to leverage the results
(opinion of local precincts) with all public officials,” he told the Defender.
The
ward’s Alderman Pat Dowell said she does not favor the policy questions.
“I do not
support these public policy questions because both stores sell food and since a
food dessert exists it is important that residents have access to stores that
do offer fresh vegetables,” Dowell told the Defender. “By limiting store hours it
makes it difficult for some residents who may work crazy hours or who are not
able to get to the store easily because they do not drive.”
One
question on the ballot will ask voters if they want Aristo to close by 10 p.m.
Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
However,
Aristo already closes at 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sundays,
according to store owner Sam Tuhaimer.
“I don’t
know why a question about our store hours would be raised when we already close
sooner the most stores in this area,” he said. “And we stopped selling malt liquor
beer and fortified wines like Wild Irish Rose months ago.”
Aristo
does still sell 40-ounce and single cans of beers but none are malt liquors.
“We took
a loss financially when we stopped selling malt liquors but we want to work
with the community. I have been here 35 years so this is my community too,”
Tuhaimer said. “We have 11 employees here and all of them live in the
community.”
Steve
Michelis, owner of Cut Rate Liquors, was unavailable at Defender press time.
A
Defender visit to the store found that Cut Rate Liquors does not sell malt
liquor beer or fortified wines, such as Wild Irish Rose, but it does sell
40-ounce and single cans of beers.
The
policy question asking voters about changing store hours would apply to Cut
Rate. Currently the store closes 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 12:30 a.m.
Friday and Saturdays and 10:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Previously,
BARCC had sought to get a referendum, which is legally binding, targeting
Calumet Food & Liquors, 315 E. 43rd St. and Rothschild Liquor Marts, 124 E.
Pershing Road, placed on the ballot. If it were successful at getting on the
ballot and it receive a simple majority vote it would have prohibited both
stores from selling 40 ounce, malt liquor and single can beers.
The
effort failed after attorneys representing the two liquor stores successfully
challenged the group’s petitions, which resulted in not enough valid petitions
to be placed on the ballot.
“(There
were) excellent lawyers who found technicalities for getting signatures tossed
out,” Monroe said. “(The lawyers) used technical things like a person signing
the petition using their nickname instead of their legal name as a way to
invalidate signatures.”
In
November Dowell drafted and presented a voluntary agreement to nine Bronzeville
liquor stores including Aristo and Cut Rate, which asked that within 60 days
high gravity alcohol, such as malt liquor and fortified wines, no longer be
sold.
Aristo
has since signed the agreement.
“We support Alderman Dowell’s effort to improve the community,” Tuhaimer added.
Copyright
2011 Chicago Defender
