Food-Coop and Liquor License

Councilwoman Jane Adams posted a look at items on the City Council agenda on her blog recently.  One of the items she mentioned was the State Liquor Commission's refusal to renew the Neighborhood Co-op's liquor license application, since she and other council members are members/owners of the co-op.  From Adams' blog:

As I was writing this blog I got a call from the manager of the Neighborhood Coop. Very apologetically, he said that their 2012-13 liquor license application had “been flagged” by the State Liquor Control Commission. The Commission would not issue their liquor license this year as long as the Mayor remained a member.

Further, City Council members who are also Coop members would have to “provide a statement that [we] will not ‘participate in any meetings, hearings, or decisions on matters impacting the manufacture, sale, or distribution of alcoholic liquor.’”

The Coop’s attorney argued that the law applies only to city officials holding 5% or more interest in a business that holds a liquor license. Since the Coop has approximately 2800 members, and no member may hold more than one share, each member holds approximately 0.036% (less than four hundredths) of the Coop’s ownership. This is a far cry from the 5% limit that creates a “direct interest” in a business holding a liquor license under Illinois code 235 ILCS 5/6-2(a)(9,10).

City Attorney Kimmel assured us that our single membership, amounting to less than 4/100ths interest, did not disqualify us.The state Liquor Control Commission has seen otherwise. They have ruled that, as long as we are members of the Coop, we cannot serve as liquor commissioners or vote on any issue involving liquor.

Of course I will resign my membership. Voters elected me to serve on the Liquor Control Commission and you expect me to vote on issues affecting liquor sales in town. No matter how wrong-headed I may think the State Liquor Control’s ruling to be, I am subject to it and will obey it.

 

This is the same problem the council ran into with Lance Jack's ownership of Fat Patties.  The council, which also serves as the Liquor Control Commission for the city, can work around Jack's inability to serve on the committee, since there are still enough members to vote on items coming before it.  Since, I gather, most of the council are also members of the Co-op, they, like Jack, would be unable to vote on any liquor related issue coming before the commission, effectively stymieing any action by it..  Give the commission's ruling, while fighting it is an option, the Co-op's request for license renewal would go on hold, impacting the organization's business.  The best thing for the co-op and business in Carbondale is for the rest of the council to follow Adams' lead and give up their memberships.