Waukegan aldermen debate raising total liquor licenses; committee holds proposal for more study

A proposed ordinance to increase the total number of Waukegan liquor licenses prompted heated public comment and a detailed discussion by the City Council's finance committee on July 21, and the committee voted to hold the measure for further consideration.

The finance and purchasing committee discussed an ordinance that would increase the city's cap on liquor licenses from 150 to 175. The measure was moved from committee to the council floor for further consideration but ultimately was held over and will return to the finance committee next month for additional review.

Why it matters: The proposal would change the number of businesses eligible to apply for city-issued liquor licenses, and committee members said the change could remove some local discretion over individual license approvals.

Several residents urged caution. Tom Capp, a local business owner, told the committee the downtown already has a troubled license history and warned against approving more licenses for operators with problematic reputations. "They're telling you everything you need to know," Capp said of a particular tavern ownership group.

Rayon Edwards, who spoke during the public-comment period, framed his opposition in public-safety terms and drew on personal experience with alcohol-related harm in his family. "Alcohol is the number 1 drug in The United States Of America," Edwards said, adding that more outlets in neighborhoods could worsen existing problems.

Aldermen split on the question. Alderman Hayes said the council should vet license applicants individually rather than expanding the pool in advance, warning about the downstream costs of policing and neighborhood complaints if license approvals are effectively preauthorized. "I am adamantly opposed to it," Hayes said during the committee debate.

Alderman Donenworth, who moved the measure onto the council agenda, characterized the ordinance as simply increasing the numerical cap and argued applicants would still have to satisfy existing licensing, police and code reviews. "This is just the maximum number of liquor licenses," Donenworth said.

Finance Director Juan explained the draft ordinance would add 25 licenses across categories using historical peak counts back to 2022; some categories would increase by only one or two licenses. Committee members also pressed staff about which categories would change and whether the change would remove the requirement for council review in some cases.

Outcome and next steps: The finance committee voted to hold the item over and will return the proposal to committee for deeper review and for additional information requested by aldermen, including a clearer breakdown of categories, which wards or neighborhoods would be affected, and the effect on public hearing and council review processes.

Context: Several individual license increases (for specific restaurants and banquet venues) were reviewed and approved separately on the council agenda. Those votes do not change the overall cap that this held-over ordinance would alter; the committee's holdover preserves more local review before a final vote on the cap.

What to watch: The measure will return to the finance committee next month. Committee members asked staff to provide a category-by-category plan, examples of comparable cities' per-capita license counts, and analysis of how preapproval would change the council's ability to vet applicants.

Votes at a glance: Finance committee vote to hold the ordinance over: motion carried (roll-call: committee members present voted to hold; detailed roll-call recorded in minutes).