Ravinia Brewing Co. Owner Could Be Forced To Choose Between City Council Or Liquor License

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Members of the Highland Park City Council are set to vote Monday on whether to make one of their fellow councilmembers choose between remaining in office and losing his business' liquor license.

Jeff Hoobler, the co-owner of Ravinia Brewing Company, was elected to the City Council last year as the lone candidate on the ballot who was not endorsed by Mayor Nancy Rotering.

In apparent violation of a clause in the city's Alcoholic Beverages Code that requires the denial of liquor licenses to "any law enforcing public official, or any member of the City Council," Rotering, in her role as liquor control commissioner, approved the renewal of Hoobler's liquor license.

But now, Rotering has placed a resolution on the agenda for Monday's meeting that would "affirm and confirm" the City Council's intent to keep the councilmember eligibility clause in place.

That would put Hoobler, who did not respond to a request for comment for this story, in a position where he would need to either step down from the City Council, face the denial of the renewal of his liquor license, or move his business out of Highland Park.

Unusually, Rotering, has also placed, on the same meeting agenda, a draft ordinance that contradicts the proposed resolution.

Instead of affirming the City Council's intention to deny liquor licenses to bars or restaurants in which police officers or councilmembers have a stake, the proposed ordinance eliminates the eligibility clause.

Staff did not make a recommendation for which one to choose, according to memos from City Manager Ghida Neukirch.

"If the City Council supports the attached ordinance," Neukirch said, "Chapter 119 of the City Code would be amended to eliminate the provision that prohibits the City’s Local Liquor Control Commissioner from approving a local liquor license application for which a member of the City Council has a direct or indirect interest in the manufacture, sale, or distribution of alcoholic liquor in the City."

The Liquor Control Commission is made up of Rotering, Councilmember Kim Stone and Councilmember Tony Blumberg.

It could not be immediately determined when or why city staff approved the brewing company's liquor license if Hoobler was ineligible, and the mayor has not publicly commented on whether she supports the ordinance or the resolution, which are mutually exclusive of one another.

In neighboring Highwood, which has no such restriction on liquor license eligibility, 28 Mile Distillery owner Eric Falberg has served as alderman since before his business opened.

The contradictory agenda items come before the council amid an ongoing legal dispute between Hoobler's Ravinia Brewing Company and the Ravinia Festival Association, the not-for-profit producers of the long-running outdoor concert series.

The festival accuses the microbrewery of infringing on its trademark, taken from the name of the neighborhood where they are both located, while the brewery responded with counterclaims alleging that the festival had fraudulently obtained its trademark on the use of "Ravinia" for restaurant names and violated its earlier agreement with the brewery.

UPDATE:

Following the publication of this story, Highland Park City Manager Ghida Neukirch responded on behalf of Rotering and City Attorney Steve Elrod.

Neukirch said her staff did not identify the violation of the liquor code when they approved Hoobler's liquor application at the end of December. Staff had not found any prior discussion of the ban on liquor licenses for cops and councilmembers nor any indication that it had ever been used to deny a liquor license in the past.

In a statement, the city manager said it would be inappropriate for elected officials to endorse one option or the other ahead of Monday's discussion. The two mutually exclusive agenda items were both included on the agenda to allow the City Council to vote immediately on the matter at Monday's meeting, rather than discussing it one week and taking action on it in the future, she said.

"It is important for the public to understand that the intent of this agenda and its inclusion of two mutually exclusive ordinances is specifically to allow for robust discussion among the Council about City policy," Neukirch said, "this is not a discussion about a particular liquor license holder and options are presented so that the Council has the flexibility to move forward with whichever path it deems to be in the best interest of the City."

Read more:

• Ravinia Festival Faces Counterclaims In Neighborhood Name Dispute
• Ravinia Festival Sues Ravinia Brewing Over Use Of Neighborhood Name
• Highland Park Mayor Endorses All But One City Council Candidate