(A) Every person desiring to engage in the business of selling at retail shall make application in writing on forms furnished by the city for a license, stating his or her name, age, residence, length of time in business, whether he or she then holds or has therefore held a license to conduct such business in any other village or city in the state, whether he or she has ever been refused such license by any municipality within the state and whether any license theretofore granted to him or her for the conduct of such business has ever been revoked. Such written application shall be verified. Such application shall be filed with the Local Liquor Control Commission; and such application shall, at the time of the filing of the same, pay to the City Clerk’s office in cash the required application fee.
(B) (1) All applications for license under this chapter shall be delivered to the Local Liquor Control Commissioner.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Local Liquor Control Commissioner to investigate and consider the application.
(3) For this purpose, the Local Liquor Control Commissioner may enlist the aid of the Chief of Police and any other city officials or officers that he or she deems necessary to complete the investigation. The investigation shall include a background and credit check.
(4) Upon completion of the investigation, the Local Liquor Control Commissioner shall approve or disapprove the issuance of a license based on the application; provided, in case of approval, that there exists an available license as set forth in this chapter.
(C) Before any action is taken upon any application as provided in this chapter, the applicant shall pay to the city the sum of $75, no part of which shall be refundable, to cover the city’s cost in reviewing and investigation such applicant.
(D) As part of the application process, the applicant may be required to execute a sufficient number of personal inquiry waiver forms so as to allow the Liquor Commissioner to obtain information about the applicant, and information about businesses located outside the city in which the applicant has an interest, from other jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies.
(E) (1) Except for applications for new licenses during the course of the annual year, no application will be accepted or approved unless the application is fully completed, the questions answered, properly signed and verified.
(2) Failure to complete the application and to file the same within the time limit prescribed herein shall be deemed grounds for refusal of the Local Liquor Control Commissioner to review such license.
(F) The application shall contain such queries as shall intelligently inform the Local Liquor Control Commissioner as to whether or not the applicant is eligible for a license and complies with the applicable requirements of the Liquor Control Act of 1934 (235 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq.) for retail liquor license.
(G) (1) Applicants may be required to submit information as to sources of funds for the purchase or operation of their businesses.
(2) The Commissioner may require such other information in writing or an oral examination.
(H) Misstatements in the application shall be deemed grounds for refusal to issue or renew the license and, if a license is issued, grounds for revocation.
(Prior Code, § 111.54) (Ord. 99-287, passed 12-14-1999)
Statutory reference:
Licensee qualification, see 235 ILCS 5/4-1, 235 ILCS 5/6-12 and 235 ILCS 5/6-25