Illinois General Assembly Amends State's Liquor Control Act

Benjamin Schuster is an Associate and Hart Passman is a Partner in the Chicago office

New Law Allows Municipalities to Control Locations of Bars, Other Liquor Retailers

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Public Act 100-0663, recently signed into law, amends the Illinois Liquor Control Act. The amendment provides municipalities the authority to allow local liquor control commissioners to grant exemptions to the state's distance requirements for bars and liquor retailers.
• Municipalities may permit bars and liquor retailers to be located within 100 feet of churches, schools and other protected uses.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed into law Public Act 100-0663, amending the Liquor Control Act (Act) (235 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq.) to give local governments the right to grant liquor licenses for locations that are within 100 feet of churches, schools and other protected uses. Before Public Act 100-0663, it took a special act of the Illinois state legislature to grant an