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In the letter, Eisenhauer further finds that granting a license to the store would “have a deleterious impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding community,” which has apparently been “plagued with problems including loud late night disturbances, disorderly conduct, traffic congestion, public intoxication, and other incidents which endanger the safety of the residents.”
Still, residents have apparently opposed granting a liquor license to the store, writing letters to that effect to both Alderman Reilly and the Local Liquor Control Commission. Because of policies that protect the privacy of complainants, McHugh isn’t allowed to see the letters and can’t find out what specific concerns people have. He’s talked to lots of people in the neighborhood, he says–he lives across the street from the store and is a member of the River North Residents Association–but the ones he’s talked to all support him. After he sent out the letters of intent in January, two people contacted him with questions about the store. He responded to them and said they seemed satisfied; other than that he hasn’t heard from anyone in the community with concerns. Those people, he says, are going straight to the alderman’s office and the liquor control commission.
