Elmhurst Lawyer Taken To Court For Lack Of Business License

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst lawyer told officials Monday that the city has taken him to court for his failure to get a business license.

At a City Council meeting, Attorney Robert Honig said it wasn't for a lack of trying. He blamed a cumbersome online process.

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He said he belongs to a constituency of businesspeople that aren't especially smart.

For a quarter century, Honig said he mailed a license form every year. This year, though, a code enforcement officer visited his downtown law office and informed him he needed to file online.

"I tried, but like I said, I'm not that smart," Honig said. "I couldn't figure out how to navigate the city's website to register my business."

So he said he called City Hall and spoke with friendly employees who couldn't get the registration done either.

After a second code enforcement visit, Honig said he visited City Hall and was directed to complete the form on a computer.

"I sat at the computer for the better part of an hour, got a little bit of help from the person behind the desk, but there was only so much they could do, and I failed again," Honig said.

At one point in the registration, he said he couldn't proceed without uploading a wastewater plan.

"I rent a small office in town. We have a total of two people who work there," Honig said. "There's a bathroom down the hall that I use a few times a day. I flush the toilet. That's my plan."

Now, he said, the city has taken legal action for his failure to register successfully.

"It's not fair," Honig said. "There should be a system in place that's easy enough for us average to below-average business owners to register our businesses."

He also said code enforcement officers could bring laptops during their business visits to help with registration, rather than inform owners that they fell short.

Following its policy, the council did not respond to Honig's comments.