First I said the city clerk issues liquor licenses in DeKalb. Then I said he didn’t. The second appears to be correct BUT that does not mean the city clerk has nothing to do with the license. I visited a DeKalb establishment today and checked out the liquor license while there. Renewed in August 2011, it was signed not just by the mayor but also by the city clerk, Steve Kapitan, and it has the Seal of the City of DeKalb on it.

Apparently, then, there must be some sort of requirement (State of Illinois?) for the city clerk to sign and to cause to be affixed to the document the Seal of the City of DeKalb, whether or not such a requirement appears in Chapter 38 or not.

Hope this clarifies things a bit.

Thanks to Mac McIntyre of DeKalb County Online for capturing video highlights of yesterday’s City of DeKalb news conference — wherein we discover that the new Tapalaluna owners were issued a “conditional” liquor license so they could get state licensing and order supplies in preparation for a Valentine’s Day opening; and that the mayor (aka liquor commissioner) essentially will be asking for city council permission Monday night after the fact, by means of approval of a development agreement.

A. In addition to any and all other requirements set forth in this Chapter, an applicant for a Class A-[Central Business District] license shall be required to submit to the City an Application for Development Agreement, as defined herein, accompanied by a non-refundable Development Application fee of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). The Development Agreement shall be memorialized in writing and, if approved by the City Council, shall be submitted to the Liquor Commissioner for his review, approval and the issuance of the Class A-CBD liquor license, in the exercise of his discretion as Liquor Commissioner.

Key: IF the development agreement is approved by city council, THEN the license may be approved by the liquor commissioner.

Did you know there was provision for a “conditional” license in Chapter 38 of the Municipal Code that changes the order of the licensing process? Me neither, and I delved fairly deeply into liquor licensing for an earlier post on the subject. In fact, if there is such a thing I need somebody to point me to chapter and verse because I can’t find it.

And that’s just for starters. Read the rest of this entry