Bar Owners Urge St. Charles To Push Closing Time Back To 2 A.M.

ST. CHARLES, IL — St. Charles bar owners spoke out Monday night against a mandate from city officials that forces bars and restaurants to close by midnight.

Mayor Raymond Rogina signed an executive order last month that temporarily suspended all late-night liquor permits in the city. Two dozen bars and restaurants in St. Charles must close at midnight instead of 2 a.m. due to the order, which the City Council supported at a meeting earlier this month.

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The owners of several St. Charles’ late-night establishments asked aldermen to reconsider the executive order, which they say is making it even harder for them to make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

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Some owners also told city officials the order hasn’t made it any safer in St. Charles, as those who want to have a drink after midnight just drive a few miles to get outside city limits, the report states.

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Rogina reiterated his reasoning for issuing the executive order, saying he believes it is “very difficult” after midnight to ask people who have been drinking to put on a mask, according to the report.

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Ward 2 Alderman Rita Payleitner on Monday threw her support behind the executive, about two weeks after announcing she experienced a mild case of COVID-19 after catching it while eating out with a friend. Payleitner called Rogina's midnight curfew a “surgical strike” that was “necessary for the greater good,” the Kane County Chronicle reports.

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