The owner of two Blue Island bars appealing a village decision to revoke his liquor licenses says the shooting cited as the reason to remove the licenses occurred in a city owned parking lot.
Mayor Fred Bilotto revoked the liquor licenses for Raven’s Place and The Vault, both in the 13000 block of Western Avenue, Oct. 17 following a Sept. 17 shooting outside of Raven’s Place. Two people were injured in the shooting, said city administrator Thomas Wogan.
Dushone Thomas, owner of Raven’s Place and The Vault, states in his appeal to the state Liquor Control Commission the shooting took place in a municipal parking lot across from Raven’s Place.
“The city attributed a shooting on a Blue Island parking lot and public city street to Raven’s Place and The Vault effectively shifting the blame to justify a revocation of the establishment’s liquor licenses,” Thomas’ attorney, Heather Ryan, wrote in the appeal.
Wogan said Friday the shooting took place on the street outside of Raven’s Place and “involved numerous patrons of the establishment, some of whom exited the establishment to retrieve firearms from their vehicles.”
The appeal argues that Bilotto, as liquor commissioner, “abused his discretion when he issued an order revoking the liquor licenses of The Vault.”
The city issued an emergency order stating that at 2:18 a.m. Sept. 17, police responded to a call of shots fired “at the premises,” according to the appeal.
In the appeal, Ryan wrote The Vault was not open after 10 p.m. and “there was absolutely no evidence as to how or why the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Blue Island would be in jeopardy if the licensee resumed business.”
The emergency order also stated the Sept. 17 shooting showed a violation of an agreement between the city and the bars’ general manager, reached May 18, 2021.
Last May, following a shooting, a safety agreement was “designed to help prevent future incidents” and signed by the bars’ general manager Raymond Thomas.
The appeal states Bilotto violated state law when he forced the businesses to remain closed beyond the statutory seven days, failed to conduct a full, fair and impartial hearing and allowed hearsay evidence at the hearing.
Bilotto forced the business to be closed from Sept. 19 to Oct. 15, according to the appeal, because he wouldn’t agree to a continuance of the liquor commission hearing unless the bars remained closed. Thomas requested the continuance to gather information about the shooting, Ryan wrote.
The appeal also argues the city was in violation by closing The Vault at the same time.
“The Vault is a completely separate business from Raven’s Place. The Vault has a separate liquor license … separate entrances than Raven’s Place,” Ryan wrote. “Although the two businesses are housed within the same city block building, they have totally different businesses and business owners in between the two establishments.”
Wogan said Raven’s Place LLC owns and operates the Raven’s Place, The Vault and other businesses operating in a single building. The safety agreement applied to both bars, he said.
Further, Wogan said it “is irrelevant” The Vault wasn’t open past 10 p.m. because the safety agreement applied to both bars.
At the start of the hearing, Ryan wrote, Bilotto stated Thomas was wasting his time and that set the tone of the hearing. Bilotto also “repeatedly interjected his own ‘testimony’ during the hearing,” according to the appeal.
Bilotto allowed for hearsay evidence, such as testimony from redacted police reports from alleged visitors of Raven’s Place, without allowing cross examination, according to the appeal.
The police report states the shooting occurred in a municipal parking lot across the street, and a witness statement alleges an argument started “out of nowhere” before the shooting began.
While the safety agreement states Raven’s Place will close at 2 a.m., a village ordinance states businesses have 20 minutes after closing to allow people to leave, Ryan wrote. The shooting occurred at 2:18 a.m., when people were in the process of leaving the bar, she wrote.
“The record in this appeal does not establish that any misconduct occurred in Raven’s Place, or that any misconduct that occurred on city property was chargeable to the licensee, its agents or employees,” Ryan wrote. “Just because there was an altercation outside of a liquor establishment after closing hours and after patrons left the premises does not equal fault on the part of the licensee.”
Wogan said there was a fair and impartial hearing.
“They were represented by multiple attorneys and afforded the opportunity to call and question all witnesses. The hearing was a thorough review of the incident and lasted for close to nine hours,” Wogan said.
The license revocations are on hold while the appeal is pending and the bars have reopened, though Bilotto said last week he called for increased police patrols in the area.
