Liquor Commission - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon. Welcome to the August 6th, 2026 Liquor Commission meeting. Roll call.

Cherico. Here. Douglas. Here. Dee. Here. Gunzer. Here. McGurry. Here. DeGioia. Here. Worley.

Here. Our first order of business is public forum. If there's anyone here that wants to speak on an item that is not on the agenda, PLEASE COME FORWARD NOW. SEEING NONE, NEXT ITEM IS OLD BUSINESS. WE HAVE THE MEETING MINUTES FROM OUR JULY 2026 MEETING. IS THERE A COMMISSIONER THAT WANTS TO MOVE FOR APPROVAL? AND COMMISSIONER CHERICO.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO PASS TO LOOK AT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES OF JULY 9, 2026, AS WRITTEN.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND, MCGURRY. A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGN AYE.

AYE.

OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. OUR NEXT ITEM IS NEW BUSINESS. ITEM E1, CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO HAPPY HOUR RESTRICTIONS IN SECTION 3-3-12-EXCUSE ME. TRY THAT AGAIN. 3.2 OF THE NAPERVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE. ARE THERE ANY SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM?

WE HAVE TWO WRITTEN COMMENTS THAT WERE POSTED ONLINE, AND WE HAVE FOUR SPEAKERS.

PLEASE CALL THE FIRST SPEAKER.

JOHN ZIDOWITZ, FOLLOWED BY BRANDON SOTO.

We need to get you in the microphone. Shub's going to come over there and help you with that. And just as a reminder, speakers, just please state your name and who you represent, and then you will have three minutes that the timekeeper to the right will be maintaining for you. So thank you.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the Liquor Commission. My name is John Zydowicz. I'm the general manager of Devante Naperville. I first like to applaud you guys for your vision and the policies that you have set because it upholds our standards higher than everybody else. That being said, Naperville is a destination spot. It's the second downtown Chicago everybody's coming to. Everybody from Naperville already knows our laws. The people who come in looking for happy hour ARE DISAPPOINTED AND WALK AWAY AND DON'T BUY ANYTHING BECAUSE THERE'S NO LIQUOR. AND THEY'RE HOLDING THE RESTAURANT RESPONSIBLE. WE HAVE TO EDUCATE THEM. THIS IS A NEIGHBORVILLE POLICY. WE LOSE OUT ON SALES. IT'S NOT A FAIR PLAYING GROUND WITH OTHER VILLAGES AROUND US. THE AGE OF THE CLIENTEL THAT'S COMING IN FOR THIS BETWEEN 4 AND 6 IS 40 AND UP. SO IF THIS WAS ORIGINALLY SET TO BE WORRIED ABOUT THE YOUNGER GENERATION ABUSING IT, I CAN ATTEST IN MY STORE THAT THAT IS NOT THE CASE. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT CHANGED WITH PARAMETERS, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH HOW WE HOLD OUR STANDARDS ABOVE EVERYBODY ELSE VERSUS ILLINOIS. Thank you.

Thank you. Call the next speaker.

Brandon Soto.

Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, commissioners. How are we today? First and foremost, I am Brandon Soto. I am the general manager of facilities right here on lovely Water Streets. We have been there for almost six years here in December. BUT MOSTLY I AM SPEAKING FOR TWO OTHER RESTAURANTS ON OUR BEHALF. I AM SPEAKING FOR LA CIROLLA, FRANCESCA AND ALSO ON BEHALF OF DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD. MOST IMPORTANTLY WHO WE ARE. WE ARE TAXPAYERS. WE ARE COMMUNITY PARTNERS. WE ARE PATRONS. WE ARE ALSO BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY EMPLOYERS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS CITY AS WELL. My biggest thing, saying again, is happy hour does translate to sales. In an industry where people now are seeing little and little, little each paycheck, they want to go out to something else to get a different experience. Now, Basile's, as maybe some of us have visited, is a very busy store, I understand. But there are other partners in the community here that are suffering as well. They don't get to generate the same amount of money that we get to do. Those extra $500, maybe $1,000 in sales that they generate between two hours from four to six would be perfect. Helps cost labor, kitchen, food items. It does take a lot of toll. In a day and age, again, where paychecks are coming slow and slim, it brings other patrons and customers and guests into our community. Downtown Naperville already has a huge presence. I understand that. But if we can keep making that not just a luxury, but also a benefit of having other small restaurant businesses to curate to those other guests that come in, not just for a stroll in the park or go right here to JC's Park or any of the other small events that we curate throughout the year. It's another little thing that they can go to another store and visit something new, try out new food, try out new drinks. And yes, I understand the alcohol laws and where we all need to keep a safe community. That's the biggest thing. But our city is already used to such important rules in the Naperville community. Doing a happy hour that's only for two hours, maybe three max, with all the basket trainings that we all do. I've gone to many establishments myself, and I still get ID'd. I still get carded. I KNOW I DON'T LOOK AS YOUNG OR AS OLD AS I SHOULD, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, PEOPLE DOWN HERE ARE TRAINED WELL. I UNDERSTAND 100% THAT THIS COMMUNITY CAN 100% KEEP THOSE SAME PRACTICES AND STILL KEEP A SAFE COMMUNITY. I JUST SAY IT DOESN'T STOP THERE. IT'S ONE MORE THING FOR BUSINESSES. IT'S NOT JUST A BAD THING. PLUS, DOWNTOWN APRILVILLE DOES GREAT WITH ALREADY THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND RESTAURANTS THAT WE DO ALREADY. Why not more? Not a bad thing. We keep seeing a lot of restaurants.

Speaker's time is up.

All right.

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker.

Glenda Barba.

GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE COUNCIL. I AM FOLLOWING WITH MR. BRANDON SOTO. I AM PART OF SCOTT HARRIS HOSPITALITY, WHICH HAS FACILITIES, LA CERELA DE FRANCESCAS, WHICH HAS BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST 32 YEARS IN THE NAPERVILLE COMMUNITY.

GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MICROPHONE FOR US, PLEASE. WHAT WAS THAT? A LITTLE CLOSER? A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MICROPHONE, YES.

OKAY. THANK YOU. AND ALSO DEVONTE OF NAPERVILLE. HAPPY HOUR SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE. in the Naperville community, alcohol, during those hours should not be restricted of consumption as every server and bartender should be knowledgeable and trained by the requirements for the state of Illinois on how much should be consumed in a period of time. There could be restrictions limited to what is consumed amongst guests and everybody should be trained on that and knowledgeable on those factors of what can be what a guest can have at that time. The Bassett... is, again, like I said, a requirement for the state of Illinois. And I feel like if happy hour will be included, there could be restrictions on what guests can be offered per restaurant and such. Like I said, again, the amount of alcohol and whatnot could be limited by per guest. IT WOULD ALSO, I FEEL LIKE, INCREASE SOME SORT OF POPULATION INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. AS YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHILL IS A VERY, AGAIN, LIKE BRANDON HAD STATED, A SECOND CHICAGO HOME. IT WILL ALSO, I FEEL LIKE, HELP BRING IN MORE GUESTS INTO THE COMMUNITY WITH OFFERING SOME SORT OF HAPPY HOUR INSTEAD OF TOURING PEOPLE AWAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER.

FINAL SPEAKER IS KEVIN REED.

It's good to see you all again. Kevin Reed, Vice President of Operations for Biages and Ancho and Agave. And I agree with everything that the previous speakers have said. And I don't necessarily want to reiterate what I presented to the Council last July. You know, happy hours for us as an industry would be a good thing for us in Naperville. We're at a competitive disadvantage with our neighboring communities that allow happy hour. In fact, I was at our ancho restaurant and watched a couple walk in, asked what our happy hour specials were, and had to explain to them that we didn't have any. Well, why not? You should. Well, we would like to. We're not permitted to. And they said, well, is that an Aprilville thing? Yeah. And they said, OK, guess we're going to Plainfield. That is not a fabricated instance that actually happened early in February. So but just to review just a little bit. You know, this law prohibiting happy hours took place in the entire state back in 1989. In 2015, it was repealed by the state. Naperville chose to retain those restrictions, and I think I understand all the reasons why, but 1989 was a long time ago. Blood alcohol concentration limit back then was .1. It's now .08. We didn't have The training that we have now, Bassett training, there were no Ubers, there were no lifts. You didn't have a whole lot of safe options of getting around if you had to accidentally imbibe too much or were unknowingly over-served. The identification technology has improved, not just in the cards themselves, but a lot of operators now are using identifiers to be able to ensure that there's no fraud in identification. Zero tolerance on underage drinking and driving. A lot has changed since 1989 and even since 2015. And I think I appreciate you considering whether or not Naperville is ready to remove the prohibition on happy hour. I think it is. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY MORE SPEAKERS WHOSE NAMES WERE NOT CALLED OR WHO WOULD LIKE TO STILL SPEAK? IF SO, COME ON UP. JUST STATE YOUR NAME AND WHO YOU REPRESENT FOR THE RECORD AND THEN WE'VE GOT THREE MINUTES.

Christina Kitchell with Caton Commercial Real Estate Group. For those of you that know me, on par for being a couple minutes late, so I apologize. I'm here just to speak on behalf of the restaurant groups in general for downtown Naperville. I have either facilitated a large share of the restaurant deals down here and or currently represent THREE DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS THAT ARE EITHER VACATED NOW OR ARE GOING TO BE VACATED. YOU KNOW, OUR JEFFERSON STREET, SURE, THEY GET THE WALKING TRAFFIC, THEY HAVE THAT VISIBILITY, BUT SOME OF THE RESTAURANTS THAT SIT ON THE PERIPHERY, IN PARTICULAR LIKE WATER STREET, THEY REALLY STRUGGLE TO DURING THOSE DOWN TIMES, NOT AT YOUR PEAK RESTAURANT HOURS. I KNOW what my clients have expressed in the past is bridging that gap, you know, that comes outside of your peak Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and being able to entice people to take an early dinner to help offset the rush crowds and take advantage of you know, getting more bodies through the door is really important right now, especially when lease rates, when expenses, when overhead and everything has an all-time high, they can't just rely on those peak hours. So I think anything at those times that could help entice people to come through the door is really important at this moment. I would also say, you know, for those that are worried about increase in, you know, drunk driving, et cetera, kids coming down, The people that attend Happy Hour, that's not your 20-year-old. That's not your college kid. Those are generally working people or individuals that are trying to get out earlier before they put their kids, have to go home and do bedtime routines. I think it is an easy thing to fit within our community without making it feel as if we're all of a sudden advocating for ragers in downtown Naperville. It really will help the restauranteurs BE ABLE TO COMPETE WITH OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES AND HAVE, YOU KNOW, OFFER HALF PRICE OPTIONS. ALSO HELPING OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO DO WANT TO EXPERIENCE SOME OF THESE PLACES LIKE RAMSEY'S AND SOME OF THE HIGHER END RESTAURANTS THAT SOMETIMES AT FULL VALUE IT'S A LOT TO TAKE ON OUTSIDE OF THE SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES. SO THAT'S IT. I WOULD APPRECIATE THE CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER SPEAKERS?

Good afternoon. Monica Connors with the Naperville Development Partnership. I'm here on behalf of Dine Naperville. So as many of you know, Dine Naperville represents over 400 restaurants in the city. We've heard many reasons today about why Happy Hour would help our businesses particularly in downtown Naperville. But just keep in mind, our restaurants are all over this city. Many of them border different communities, and the competition is fierce in our neighboring communities. So I'd really, on behalf of many of the restaurants that I've heard from, consider you to explore this. A lot of our chain restaurants actually can't come today because they're part of a national corporation. But they've expressed challenges because we're one of the few communities nationally that don't offer happy hour. So from a marketing perspective, it's really difficult for them to manage the marketing programs that are coming out for their brand. And then they either have to adjust their website or you know, they're caught in kind of a difficult situation. I actually know a few restaurants that think that happy hour is legal here. So it's just creating a public issue here. So thank you so much.

Thank you. And speakers, just so you're aware, members of the commission may ask you to come back and answer questions. So please stick around if you are able to. ALL RIGHT, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, WE HAVE BEFORE US THE AGENDA ITEM FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE HAPPY HOUR RESTRICTIONS AND ADMISSIVE CODE. IN THE AGENDA ITEM, YOU HAVE WHAT THE STATE LIQUOR CONTROL ACT STARTED TO PERMIT BACK IN 2015, 2017 TIME PERIOD, AND THEN WHAT OUR RESTRICTIONS ARE BEYOND THAT, AND I THINK THE The question before us today is whether or not we remove some or all or none of the current city's stricter regulations with regard to what are perceived as happy hour rules. So I'll open things up for discussion by the commissioners. Commissioner Douglas.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR PRESENTING. I THINK YOU HAD SOME COMPELLING ARGUMENTS.

COMMISSIONER, CAN YOU PULL THE MICROPHONE TO YOU?

WE GET IN TROUBLE, TOO. AND AS A MARKETER, I WAS ALREADY TRYING TO THINK OF IDEAS FOR THE RESTAURANTS HERE, SO I THINK THAT'S A LOT OF FUN. I JUST WANT SOME HISTORY FOR BOTH THE COMMISSION AND FOR THE COMMUNITY OF WHY IN 2017 DID WE NOT MAKE THIS CHANGE. IS THERE ANYTHING COMPELLING THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN TERMS OF DUIs OR OTHER INFRACTIONS

I THINK DURING THAT TIME WE WERE STILL TRYING TO GET OUR ARMS AROUND THE AFTERMATH OF SOME OF THE LATE-NIGHT STUFF THAT HAPPENED WITH LIQUOR-RELATED INCIDENTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF SENSITIVITY WITH REGARD TO THE LIQUOR CODE AND WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE. OBVIOUSLY, A LOT OF THINGS HAVE TAKEN PLACE SINCE THEN. THE LIQUOR CODE GOT STRICTER WITH REGARD TO CERTAIN SERVICE CRITERIA AND LATE-NIGHT CUTOFFS. HOW DOES THAT PERTAIN TO THE HAPPY HOUR? I THINK IF I WERE TO TRY TO RECALL WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH THE HEADS OF THE COMMISSIONERS AT THE TIME WAS, WELL, IT WAS NEW FROM THE STATE'S PERSPECTIVE, AND NOBODY REALLY SAW SOMETHING BROKEN AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME, AND THERE WAS NOT AN OVERWHELMING outcry from the restaurants to ask for it then. There was a lot of confusion about what the state was restricting versus what Naperville has. But at that time, I think the Liquor Commission was looking at it like, well, let's just see how it goes and see if we can get these other things under control. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD.

GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD.

Yeah, so the state code says discounts cannot exceed four hours per day or 15 hours a week. Happy hours are prohibited between 10 a.m. or 10 p.m. and closing, though non-consecutive hours are allowed within the four-hour limit. So to your point, are you talking about an afternoon day part or are you talking about THAN EIGHT O'CLOCK TO TEN.

LIKE HAPPY HOUR AS A CONSUMER, LIKE FOUR TO SIX OR THREE TO FIVE OR WHATEVER THEIR TIMES WERE. SO I JUST WANTED TO SEE HOW IMPORTANT THAT 10 PM WAS TO THE COMMUNITY OR IF THEY'RE REALLY THINKING OF IT MORE LIKE THAT FOUR TO SIX PERIOD.

SO IF THE SPEAKERS WANT TO COME BACK UP AND SIT IN THE FRONT ROW SO WE CAN ASK YOU ALL QUESTIONS, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMMISSIONER DOUGLAS IS REALLY LOOKING FOR IS, IS THERE ANY CONSENSUS AMONGST YOU THAT AND WHAT THE HOURS MIGHT LOOK LIKE FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION. SO ULTIMATELY, YEAH, COME TO THE MICROPHONE.

Happy hours, for those that choose to utilize them, are really a mechanism for filling an empty seat. The most expensive seat in a restaurant is an empty seat. And so you don't run specials on Valentine's Day because you don't need to. So we wouldn't offer discounts during peak hours, again, because you don't need to. But some of those early diners, a lot of times, People on fixed incomes appreciate the discounts, where they might not be able to come and dine with you at full fare. So yeah, it would really be during hours of low volume. I think that's probably the consensus.

So just to further clarify, would that be 2 o'clock to 6 o'clock, or 3 o'clock to 7?

Yeah, I think it depends on the business model. Some places are dinner only, so it might be a 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock. Some places close between lunch and dinner, but I think discounted hours typically traditionally somewhere between 3 and 6.

And I think it's important to try to get some sort of agreement on what this looks like, because if the commission does vote to go forward with something, I would guess that council is more concerned going to be looking at what those hours would look like. Because this recommendation would go to the city council, and they would then have to take action on it. And I think they'd be very concerned if those hours were not specifically identified as to when people were going to do those types of discounts.

I think the state does a good job of putting some of those safeguards and guardrails up, which are no more than four hours a day, no more than 15 hours a week. And again, I think business to business that might look a little bit different on when their actual slow periods are, but I think the state's guidelines are pretty good for operators and also for understanding what's permissible. But if you're recommending that THERE ARE SPECIFIC HOURS THAT EACH RESTAURANT WOULD BE ABLE TO OR ONLY BE ABLE TO DISCOUNT, THEN THAT'S PROBABLY MORE OF A CONVERSATION FOR A RESTAURANT COMMUNITY TO HAVE BEFORE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION.

JUST TO CLOSE THAT OUT, THEN I WAS THINKING THREE TO SEVEN, JUST FOR YOU GUYS TO HOPEFULLY GET THIS PASSED TO THE NEXT LEVEL, DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS HERE TODAY, THAT MIGHT ALLEVIATE THOSE CONCERNS FROM 2017 OF THE LATE-NIGHT DISRUPTIONS.

Yeah, three to seven makes sense. I might not want to go that late in one of my restaurants. And also, you know, four hours a day, but 15 hours a week means you're not going to be able to do that every day of the week. So then what days? If you're a sports bar, it probably doesn't make sense to discount on Sunday. But if you're a restaurant that's slower on Sundays, you might want to.

And just so you're aware, you as the proprietor can be absolutely far more restrictive than the city's municipal code or the state liquor code. What we can't have you do is be less restrictive. So if the Liquor Commission pushed forward, say, this three to seven time frame as what the allowable happy hour times were in Naperville, and it would be Monday through Friday or whatever that case might be, you could choose to use that or not use it. It's totally up to you. You could use part of it or all of it. Or you don't have to do anything.

And I think three to seven, I think the restaurant community would be very embracing of that.

Sure, yes. Sir, just come on up to the microphone, identify yourself and where you're from.

Hi, I'm Anthony Bai from Baiz and Entourage Restaurants. I disagree with not considering a potential later extension of that happy hour as well. While yes, it is made to bring people in during those off hours, those off hours are not strictly just in the middle of the daytime between lunch and dinner, but also as dinner falls off. So as the gentleman from on show I believe suggested maybe, I don't know if there's a way to consider the, I think, correct me, over 400 restaurants in Naperville. That's a lot of different thoughts that might be in favor of having something else later as an option as well at least. DOWNERS GROVE HAVE AN ENTOURAGE THERE AS WELL WHICH DOES PERMIT THE HAPPY HOURS AND WE HAVE IT BOTH DURING THE DAY AND IN THE EVENING AND WE DO SEE A GREAT DRAW FROM THAT IN THE LATER PERIOD AS WELL. WE RESTRICT IT WITHIN THE STATE REGULATIONS. WE DO IT FOR THE LAST HOUR AND A HALF THAT WE'RE OPEN BUT I THINK THERE IS Yes, there's a lot of people that want to get out early, but there's also in this community a lot of people that like to go out later in the evening, especially in this beautiful Chicagoland weather over the summer. People do like to go out at 8.30, 9 o'clock. to enjoy a meal later evening, even with their entire families, young children, everything across the board. So just as a potential consideration, I don't know how to get more restaurants' opinion on that to be heard. Obviously, today was an opportunity, but if there's some other opportunity for that to be considered, I think it would be worth talking about. Thank you. Thank you.

The main reason for happy hour is strictly financial. It's easier not to have it later in the evening because we can cut staff accordingly to save our budget. When you start at 3 o'clock, you're going to have to staff because we don't know what's going to happen for the day. You can stagger people coming in, but it's hard to restrict your staff and cut their hours. So we need more assistance at the beginning of the day, the 3 to 5, 4 to 6. As an operator, I wouldn't do anything past 6 because I don't have problems with my restaurant putting people in the seats. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT AWARE.

OKAY.

COUNTS OR COMMISSIONER FEE. CAN ANY OF YOU SPEAK TO WHAT QUANTIFY WHAT THE FINANCIAL BENEFIT WOULD BE TO A RESTAURANT TO HAVE HAPPY HOUR VERSUS THE SAME RESTAURANT IN THAT CHAIN IN A MUNICIPALITY THAT DOESN'T HAVE HAPPY HOUR? WHAT IS THE FINANCIAL IMPACT TO YOU?

So we've got five biagis in Illinois. We've got four anchos in Illinois. We have one of each in Naperville. Naperville is the only biagis or ancho that doesn't do a traditional happy hour. We do discount food at both concepts, but not alcohol. The happy hours at Ancho and Naperville Biages account for about 5% of those units total revenue, where it's about 18% of the other Anchos and Biages across the state. I don't know if that's exactly what you want quantified, but you can see the difference in what contributes to our revenue.

So you're saying there would be a 13%

INCREASE IN REVENUE AT OUR CONCEPTS AND DEPENDING ON WHAT THE DISCOUNT LOOKS LIKE, SOME HAPPY HOURS ARE MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN OTHERS BUT FOR US IT'S ABOUT A 12 TO 13% DIFFERENCE.

IN THE END THIS IS ABOUT FINANCES AND KEEPING YOUR BUSINESS PROFITABLE.

OURS BUT ALSO THE CITY'S. THERE'S TAXES THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT AS WELL THAT WILL ABSOLUTELY INCREASE REVENUE.

Great. The second question I had was really towards the detective. I don't know if you talk to other departments when they have happy hours versus the same time period that we don't, right? Do you notice in other departments there's more DUIs, there's more fights you got to break up, there's more assaults?

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. I HAVEN'T DONE A PARTICULAR STUDY, BUT WE HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN THAT INFORMATION FROM THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. WE'RE NOT MADE AWARE. WE DO WATCH, THE MAYOR AND I WATCH REPORTS AROUND THE AREA, AND WE HAVEN'T SEEN OR I HAVEN'T SEEN, I SHOULDN'T SPEAK FOR THE MAYOR, BUT I HAVE NOT SEEN INCREASED ACTIVITY DURING THAT TIME.

YEAH, BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT COSTS. YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY COST AND WHAT'S THE COMMUNITY COST, RIGHT? Thank you. Commissioner DeGioia.

Hello, question for the business owners. If you have an establishment outside of Naperville, what are your current happy hours there? Are they the same in different locations?

And we do a happy hour Monday through Friday from three to six. And we do see a successful amount of people come in for those times, obviously, because like we have stated before, income purposes, People are on a budget. They would like to enjoy themselves outside of the restaurant or outside of, you know, outside of lives. We get a lot of teachers after school that come in for those times being. A lot of our public figures as well, too. They come in for happy hour. It's happy hour. And, like, you can limit it. And, again, there can be guidelines and restrictions on those times. Thank you. And what to offer.

Commissioner Jericho.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. YEAH, SO GOOD QUESTION, COMMISSIONER DOUGLAS, ON WHY WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING IN 2017. WE WERE, OR 2015, WE WERE COMING OFF OF, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU WERE OPERATING, A COUPLE OF YOU I KNOW WERE OPERATING IN NEIGHBORVILLE AT THAT TIME, WHERE OUR LATE NIGHT We were having a lot of issues in our downtown. Things got out of control. A lot of fights. This was when social media just started getting really, really popular. And all of a sudden, the stuff was flying around about Naperville and how unsafe it was at night. And parents were starting to say, what the hell's going on? And so the Dine Naperville Restaurant Association and the chamber and many of the restaurant owners managers sort of came up with a plan that had a handful of recommendations to help curb some of these problems that we were having. And after that was initiated, it really, really had an impact. And so that was only two years prior to this law change. And I think that there was a hesitancy on the commission's part to DO ANYTHING THAT MIGHT REVERSE THAT POSITIVE TREND THAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING SINCE WE REALLY HIT THE PEAK OF WHEN WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS. SO I THINK HISTORICALLY THAT'S WHY WE MADE THE DECISION WE MADE AT THAT TIME. YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY KNOWS, AND IT'S BEEN SAID, NAPRIL'S RESTAURANT BUSINESS IS VERY ROBUST. AND ONE OF THE REASONS IT'S VERY ROBUST IS BECAUSE WE HAVE A VERY GOOD FAMILY-FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE. and we have rules in place that regulate live music and things like that that can drive crowds that can get a little aggressive. We don't allow poker machines in our restaurants and our bars. It's something that also I know has been brought forward by restaurants across the year, over the years, saying, hey, look, this will help us. It puts us at a competitive disadvantage, and it does. But At the same time, one of the reasons that Naperville is such an attractive place for residents outside of Naperville to come to is because we don't have those things. It is a family-friendly atmosphere. So we made a decision to sort of brand on that basis. I think that for me, I would be very comfortable supporting a recommendation to ADOPT THE STATE'S GUIDELINES FOR HAPPY HOUR. I THINK IT MAKES SENSE AT THIS POINT. THE SPEAKERS MAKE GOOD POINTS. WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY. I THINK SOME OF THE CONCERNS WE HAD WITH NAPERVILLE HAVE BEEN REMEDIED WITH THE RULES WE'VE PUT IN PLACE. I WOULD NOT SUPPORT THE COMMENT THAT WAS SAID THAT THEY DO HAPPY HOUR AN HOUR AND A HALF BEFORE CLOSE. THAT WOULD GO DIRECTLY AGAINST. what we were trying to prevent before, which is one of them is no half-priced drinks right before closing, no shots right before closing. But we're trying to get people, I don't want to say sobered up, but we don't want to get them drunk right before we close so that we're shoving them out the door at 1 o'clock in the morning, that type of thing. So that was certainly one of the things that led to the problems that we were having. Mayor, my position would be that I'd make a recommendation that we adopt the state's policy. I think it makes some sense. It's consistent. It will eliminate confusion from community to community, provides enough flexibility for the different types of business models to adopt whatever marketing they want to that best fits them. So it makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you, sir.

Commissioner, can you convert that to a motion?

ARE THERE ANY MORE?

WE CAN DO A MOTION, SEE IF WE GET A SECOND, THEN DO DISCUSSION AND GO FROM THERE.

MR. MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT THE CITY OF NAPERVILLE ADOPT THE STATE'S HAPPY HOUR LAWS, MAKE A POSITIVE RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL.

WE HAVE A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? I'VE GOT A VERY SECOND. A MOTION AND A SECOND. NOW DISCUSSION. Any commissioners have any discussion, questions? Commissioner DeJoy.

I do. Are we able to change the 10 o'clock and bring it down a little bit to like a seven or?

So right now the motion would be to mirror the state statute, which is happy hours are prohibited between 10 PM and closing. you would be looking at potentially making a motion of substitution to bring the hours shorter than that?

Yes. The reason is I feel that around 10 o'clock or 9 o'clock, you will get those younger college kids or your 20-year-olds and stuff that will try to at least take advantage of the happy hour, which can entail potentially cause, you know, LET'S POUND A FEW MORE BEFORE WE LOSE THIS HAPPY HOUR.

OKAY. COMMISSIONER D, YOU WERE LIT UP NEXT. DID YOU WANT TO MAKE A SECOND ON THAT OR YOU WANT TO HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK, IS THERE A MECHANISM AS WE, IF WE SAY YES AND THIS GOES FORWARD, Is there a mechanism for the law enforcement to kind of like keep track of, you know, statistics if there's a spike in, you know, the UIs and fights and stuff like that, that we can revisit this in six months, say, and see what's going on or what one year? Detective Creighton.

Yeah, I don't know if we'd be able to really get data based on the time restraints. We could obviously check data in six months if a BROAD HAPPY HOUR LAW WAS ACCEPTED IN APRILVILLE, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF YOU WERE REFERRING TO THE TIMES. LIKE, IF A HAPPY HOUR ENDS AT 8, OR IF IT HAPPENS AT 10, THERE'S REALLY NO STUDY OR DATA WE COULD PULL FROM THAT IF THERE WAS DUI INCREASES.

IT WOULD JUST BE A MONITORING OF AS WE GO FORWARD WITH THIS AND THIS GOES INTO EFFECT, IS THERE A SPIKE OR NOT? JUST REALLY JUST TO SEE IF THIS IS, YOU KNOW, IS THIS WORTH, IS IT WORTH THE RISK? MOST DEFINITELY THEN. WE CAN CHECK THOSE STATISTICS EASILY.

AND ONE THING THAT'S BEEN DONE, THERE HAVE BEEN ORDINANCES THAT WE HAVE TESTED WHERE WE PUT A SUNSET ON THEM OR REQUEST THEM TO BE SUNSETTED TO BE REVISITED WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME FRAME TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY NEGATIVE IMPACT.

I THINK A YEAR TO GIVE IT ALL FOUR SEASONS TO SEE HOW IT AFFECTS BUSINESSES AND HOW POSITIVELY IT AFFECTS BUSINESSES VERSUS HOW MUCH IT AFFECTS THE COMMUNITY.

I like the 7 o'clock ending to really make it a happy hour. I understand what Vice is saying in Entourage, and I think that I'm actually looking out for you because I think this will go further with City Council if it is restricted, and then prove it out, and then come back to us again and say, hey, now we want to go to 10. That's my personal recommendation.

Okay, I'm going to go back to Commissioner DeGioia. Did you want to make a motion of substitution with a change in the hours from the original motion, which would have mirrored the state statute of 10 p.m.?

Yes.

And what would you like that motion to indicate?

I would like to motion of changing Jericho's original motion from moving the time from 10 p.m. to 7 p.m.

7 p.m. Is there a second?

Second.

Okay, we have a motion on the second on the amended, or I'm sorry, on the motion of substitution. Commissioner Cherico, did you have a question?

Thanks, Mayor. I was just going to say I'm willing to withdraw my motion. I'm not necessarily opposed to the more restrictive hours. I just thought that it would be perhaps less confusing for the restaurant operators and the public IF THEY HAVE ONE SET OF RULES THROUGHOUT THE STATE, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT MAKES SOME SENSE AND DOES PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE LATITUDE, BUT I'M NOT HELL-BENT ON BRINGING IT BACK TO 7 O'CLOCK EITHER, SO I'M FINE WITH THAT.

SO WE HAVE THE MOTION OF SUBSTITUTION AND WE HAVE A SECOND ON THE 7 O'CLOCK CHANGE. ALL OTHER RULES ON THE STATE SIDE WOULD BE THE SAME. Ms. Bonner, are we good with that?

Yes, we are.

Okay, everybody knows.

Depending on the liquor commission, but yes, that's the motion.

All right. Seeing no other lights lit for discussion, roll call.

Chirico. Aye. Douglas. Aye. Dee. Aye. Gunzer. Aye. McGurry. Aye. DeGioia. Aye.

MOTION PASSES 6-0. SO COMMISSIONER BONNER, CAN YOU, I'M SORRY, I'M EITHER PROMOTING YOU OR DEMOTING YOU, DEPENDING HOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT. COUNCILOR BONNER, CAN YOU INFORM THE AUDIENCE HERE OF WHAT THE PROCESS LOOKS LIKE NEXT, WHEN THEY WILL SEE THIS AGAIN, AND WHERE THIS WILL GO FROM A CITY COUNCIL PERSPECTIVE?

So it's a recommendation to a text amendment to city council. It'll be, I'll put it on the first meeting in September. I think that's September 1st. If you have any questions though, you can reach out to Ms. O's captain and we'll confirm the date, but it should be September 1st, I believe.

Yes, and I would recommend based on your interests that any letters of support for your position to the city council, IT'S LIKE EVERYTHING STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN AT THE CITY COUNCIL. SO THAT'S YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE YOU'VE BEEN HEARD THERE. AND IF YOU WANT TO SHOW UP TO THAT MEETING AND SIGN UP FOR THAT PARTICULAR AGENDA ITEM TO ALSO MAKE SURE YOU'RE HEARD, THAT'S THE SAME CASE. NOW, IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE, IT IS A UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATION FROM THE LIQUOR COMMISSION, WHICH MEANS IT WOULD GO ON THE CITY COUNCIL'S CONSENT AGENDA. Any city council member can actually have it pulled from the consent agenda to be voted separately. Likewise, anybody who signs up to specifically talk on this, it would automatically pull it from the consent agenda, and then there would be an opportunity for you to testify. There is an option when you sign up to indicate that you are going to be present for questions only. SO THAT WOULD NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THE ITEM WOULD BE PULLED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA, BUT IT WOULD SHOW THAT YOU WOULD BE THERE TO RESPOND TO ANY CONCERNS THAT COMMISSIONERS OR COUNCIL MEMBERS MAY HAVE. BUT I WOULD CERTAINLY SUGGEST THAT TO TRY TO GET SOMETHING DONE AT THE CITY COUNCIL LEVEL, THIS IS ONE STEP, BUT THE NEXT STEP IS GOING TO BE IN SEPTEMBER.

OKAY?

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. All right. Our next item is reports, DUI reports, item F1.

Detective Crichton. Thank you, Mayor. We're up to date, so we're just talking about July here, and we had 26 DUIs in July of 2025, and we reduced to 17 DUIs in July of 2026. Moving on to tobacco, F2. Tobacco, right now we're kind of in our summer lull in between the last checks in May-ish, and we'll start getting geared up basically October, which starts with the retailer packets that I distribute to each and every tobacco retailer. Right now we're still working with the Illinois Department of Human Services, signing contracts with our budget manager over at the police department.

F3, local liquor law essentials report.

We had 33 people complete the local liquor law training in July.

F4 liquor concept committee report.

We did not have a liquor concept meeting in July.

And that was due to?

No concepts.

All right. Seeing no other reports, we have a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Sherico.

Mayor, may I make a motion to adjourn?

So motion, is there a second?

I second.

We have a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? We are adjourned.