Thorntons Gets Special Liquor Licenses To Save Casseday House

JOLIET, IL — At Tuesday night's meeting, the Joliet City Council reaffirmed its commitment to save the Casseday house from demolition, granting Thorntons Class B and Class C liquor licenses to redevelop the east side property.

The city approved allowing packaged liquor sales as well as on-site consumption of alcoholic beverages as part of the unique deal worked out with Thorntons' lawyer, Michael Hansen, Joliet's commercial real estate lawyer.

Under the deal, Thorntons has agreed to spend roughly $200,000 to $300,000 in out of pocket costs to pay for the relocation of Joliet's Casseday House, a limestone apartment building at the corner of Jackson and Collins Streets that was built in 1851.

The Casseday house was facing demolition to make way for the new Thorntons gas station, but some of Joliet's historic preservationists, notably Mary Beth Gannon, fought to save the property.

It's believed to be the oldest house left standing in Joliet.

Joliet Patch first reported on the controversy to save the Casseday house in August 2018.

Since that time, the ongoing dispute to save the house delayed the Thorntons construction by several months, Thorntons officials told the council this week.

Thorntons wanted the ability to allow on-site liquor consumption because the business intends to install video gambling machines.

Thorntons intends to build its new east side gas station at 400 Collins St. in 2020. As part of the deal with the city, Thorntons will cover the costly expenses of relocating the 1851 house.

The Joliet City Council members voting in favor of the Class C and Class B liquor licenses for Thorntons were: Jan Quillman, Pat Mudron, Sherri Reardon, Bettye Gavin and Don "Duck" Dickinson. Opposing the measure were Larry Hug, Mike Turk and Terry Morris.

Hug stressed that he was in favor of saving the Casseday house, but he did not support the deal cut with Thorntons that allows for the company to allow customers to drink at the gas station, perhaps for several hours at a time.

Hug reminded his colleagues that only a small percentage of city residents cared about saving the Casseday house. For him, the idea of allowing people to pump gas, drink alcohol inside Thorntons and then "leave buzzed, it's just bad policy," Hug remarked.

Mayor O'Dekirk, as liquor commissioner, told the council that he did not want the city to approve the Class B and Class C liquor licenses because doing so would set a bad precedent for other gas stations.

Quillman, however, supported the measure, because she wanted "to save the oldest house in the city of Joliet. I think this is an exception to the rule."

On Wednesday, Hug told Patch that the plan is to move the Cassaday house to a city-owned lot, also on the east-side. He said it was his understanding the lot is still in the Collins Street corridor.