While the heady days of illicit alcohol flowing in speakeasies, and mobsters gunning each other down at hotels, have long passed in Lake County, a bit of Prohibition-era history sparked drama for Highland Park.
And in Waukegan, an alderman gave up his liquor license to avoid a potential conflict of interest between his eatery and serving on the City Council.
These liquor license controversies combined to make the issue one of the Lake County News-Sun’s top stories of 2024.
Earlier this year, Highland Park City Councilman Jeff Hoobler, owner of the former Ravinia Brewing, now Steep Ravine Brewing, chose to resign from his council seat rather than give up his liquor license after a forgotten ordinance prohibiting liquor license owners from holding public office was rediscovered after his election.
An opportunity to amend the Prohibition-era law went before the council in February, but Mayor Nancy Rotering and council members Anthony Blumberg and Kim Stone rejected the proposal. Three other council members supported the amendment, while Hoobler recused himself from the discussion and vote.
The tie vote resulted in a rejection of the motion to amend the ordinance, and Hoobler resigned in March.
Controversy continued for months after his resignation, spilling into the Oktoberfest celebration and garnering heated public comments during City Council meetings.
After an advisory referendum on Nov. 5 showed 82% of voters were in support of changing the ordinance, the following City Council meeting was especially contentious, as residents railed against council members for not moving faster on the issue.
Council members Annette Lidawer and Andres Tapia, who had both voted in favor of including a change to the liquor license ordinance in the meeting’s agenda, voiced their complaints over the item’s absence, while other council members argued there was still additional work needed before moving ahead.
During the meeting, Mayor Nancy Rotering said the decision to put the topic off until 2025 reflected, “our commitment to thoughtful, deliberate governance, and to maintaining a balanced approach to addressing the needs of our city,” while avoiding “reactionary” or “piecemeal” decision-making.
“The suggestion to deviate from this plan, and call for an immediate vote on this issue, is not only unnecessary, but it undermines the collaborative, transparent process we rely on to make decisions,” she said.
“A canary in the coal mine”
The timetable has frustrated some residents, including Irwin Bernstein, founder of Highland Park Forward — a political action committee lobbying for the amendment of the city’s liquor license ordinance.
During November’s meeting, he accused council members of stalling for political reasons. There were several potential challengers for council seats up for election in 2025 that can’t run because they have liquor licenses, Bernstein said.
“The public office is a position of trust,” he said. “The community expects you to act in our best interest, and serve the people, not your personal agendas. You’re concerned someone with a liquor license might be more popular than the candidates you’re supporting.”
Three incumbents up for election in 2025, Lidawer, Tapia and Barisa Bruckman, who was appointed to the council earlier this year to fill Hoobler’s vacancy, are running unchallenged. Their terms will be four years.
A potential challenger, James Lynch, executive director of The Art Center Highland Park and chair of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, announced in December he was withdrawing his candidacy after discussions with the center’s board.
Meanwhile, Councilmember Kim Stone, who has decided to run for a shorter term, will face Jon Center and Kevin Cullather for the remaining two years of Hoobler’s seat.
The situation has left Bernstein “frustrated and disappointed.” It is a “canary in the coal mine for a bigger issue” with Highland Park government, he said.
“Highland Park is going to go through another two years with no business owners represented on the City Council, even though there’s such a loud clamoring for that sort of representation,” he said.
However, he vowed that HP Forward will continue its efforts, planning to “educate community members” on the importance of political involvement, fundraising to support candidates and “leave the city better than when we got it.”
Waukegan alderman gives up license
Waukegan Ald. Jose A. Guzman, 2nd Ward, also runs Dockside Dogs, a hotdog stand that began selling alcohol in 2020. When he was elected to the City Council, he began recusing himself from the proceedings anytime an issue related to liquor licensing was before the legislative body.
But earlier this year, Guzman learned that was not necessarily enough, and that according to state law he may not be able to continue on the council while holding his liquor license. The state law does not necessarily apply to Highland Park due to population size; Waukegan crosses the 55,000-resident threshold outlined in Illinois statutes.
Guzman chose not to renew Dockside Dogs’ liquor license when it was due, electing to remove any potential conflict between operating the harborside eatery during boating season and continuing to serve on the council.
“I dropped the liquor license and stopped selling alcoholic beverages because serving the public is more important right now,” he said at the time. “They should change the law because it keeps a lot of people out of public service.”
Guzman has owned the eatery since 2014, and began working the stand when he was just 8 years of age. By the time he was 16, Guzman said he was working at Dockside Dogs serving customers and helping to prepare the food.
When he had the opportunity to purchase the business in 2014, Guzman said he jumped at the chance. He had ideas to grow the operation and wanted to implement them.
“It’s been a big part of my life,” Guzman said. “I love the people who come to buy the food. I like being here.”
