Peoria Pundit

Well, I was wrong. Tonight’s Peoria City Council meeting didn’t end sometime after 10 p.m. as I predicted. It ended shortly after 8 p.m.

The meeting started at about 6:15 p.m., but the real city business didn’t start until about 6:45 p.m. after all the proclamations were over. Which was about when I arrived. cagey veteran that I am, I knew that the first half-hour would be a huge waste of my time, so I intentionally arrived late.

The council essentially whipped through the 33-item consent agenda, taking only five of the items out for individual votes, three of which were were to defer to later meetings. Also deferred:

1. A recommendation to approve a Class B-1 liquor license to the owner of J.J. Ryan’s to open a restaurant/tavern at 7719 N. University.
2. A recommendation from the  city’s liquor commission to deny a Class A liquor license to Elliott’s, the strip-tease joint located at 7807 N. University, a few doors north of where J.J. Ryan’s wants to relocate.

Here’s why I think the city is hesitant to approve the license for J.J. Ryan’s: If it does, it would weaken the city’s argument that it isn’t denying Elliott’s owners their rights by refusing them a liquor license solely because they are providing adult entertainment.

A recent federal court decision says that cities cannot deny an otherwise qualified applicant a liquor license only because they have nekkid women prancing about inside. So if the city denies Elliott’s a license because of (wink, wink) “neighborhood” concerns, then it can’t very well approve J.J. Ryan’s when they are located two downs down. But denying J.J. Ryan’s makes no sense because the owner ALREADY has a liquor license and simply wants another one for a building that has recently been used for a tavern/restaurant, located on a block that is littered with restaurants and bars.

But there’s hope. The city and Elliott’s have agreed to federal mediation. Perhaps the process just isn’t over, and that’s the cause for the delay. I’m sure the nice law-abiding lady who owns J.J. Ryan’s doesn’t mind one little bit while her business is being held hostage while her little psychodrama plays out.

After all, it’s only her livelihood.

This entry was posted on May 21, 2008 at 12:43 pm and is filed under Imported . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed Both comments and pings are currently closed.