New Village President's Liquor License a Focus of State Legislation

Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) is sponsoring legislation that would remove a statute that prevents Village President-elect Anan Abu-Taleb from also holding a liquor license. 

Abu-Taleb, the owner of Maya del Sol in Oak Park, won the village presidency election in April, defeating John Hedges with about 58 percent of the vote. 

However, 1934 Liquor Control Act established that suburban mayors or presidents would also serve as local liquor control commissioner, and to avoid conflicts of interest they could not hold liquor licenses in the communities that elected them.

The General Assembly amended the law last year to exempt communities of 50,000 or less and provide for delegation of liquor commissioner duties to another official in such cases. With Oak Park’s current populationat about 52,000, the Harmon amendment would slightly increase the exemption so it would apply to communities of 55,000 or less.

Doing so would allow Abu-Taleb to keep his liquor license for Maya del Sol and direct the other members of the Village Board to appoint a replacement liquor commissioner.

The legislation, Senate Bill 724, passed the Senate with a 47-3 vote April 18 and will go to the House in a couple of weeks. 

"One of the things we’re elected to do as state legislators is address pressing issues in our home communities," Harmon said in a news release. "With the approaching May 6 swearing-in of the new Village Board, I saw this as important, urgent, needed action." 

Harmon did not discuss the matter with Abu-Taleb until after the April 9 election. He said that during the April 18 debate on the Senate floor, questions were raised about whether the law was even needed at all, and some suggested that the General Assembly strike it from the statutes during their 2014 session.

"Restaurateurs are often popular people in their communities and perhaps should not have to decide between their businesses and their elected offices,” Harmon said in the release. 

The Oak Park Village Board is also addressing an ethics ordinance that affects Abu-Taleb as holder of a liquor license, but whatever the disposition of that, a change in state law still would be required in this situation.

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