Peoria City Council To Consider Reduced License Fees For 2021

Press release from the City of Peoria:

Jan. 7, 2021

The ongoing COVID19 pandemic and continued mitigations from the State of Illinois have made it difficult for bars and restaurants to sustain regular business. To counter the financial distress that’s impacted businesses, the City Council will consider two ordinances at the January 12 meeting that would reduce the cost of renewal fees for holders of on-site consumption liquor licenses (item 21-021) and video gaming licenses (item 21-022).

For video gaming licenses, the ordinance proposes reducing the terminal license from $500 per machine to $250. For on-site consumption liquor licenses, the reduction would be 50% of the established fee, which depends on the type of license the owner holds. This does not include packaged goods purchased in grocery and liquor stores.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigation measures put into place by the State of Illinois suspended all gaming through the Illinois Gaming Board between March 16, 20202 and June 30, 2020 and again from November 19, 2020 to the present. Bars and restaurants have also been restricted from in-person consumption due to the mitigations, severely restricting their ability to do business.

Mayor Ardis stated, “As a former business owner, I personally understand the difficult decisions these businesses have had to face in the past year. It’s important to our entire community that we try to provide some immediate financial relief to our business owners while we navigate the upcoming months.”

Also included in the proposed ordinance is a clause for any business found guilty in any court or state or local administrative hearing or proceeding to have violated a COVID-19 Regulation. In that case, within 30 days after the finding, the licensee shall, as a condition of its license, pay the City the full amount of the license fee for its license as set forth in sections 3-52 and 3-53 of the Liquor Code.

The City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 12 at 6:00 pm. Residents may access the meeting from the livestream at www.peoriagov.org, listen live at 89.9 WCBU Radio, watch the City of Peoria YouTube Channel or Public Access Channel 22.

This press release was produced by the City of Peoria. The views expressed here are the author’s own.