3 a.m. liquor sales coming to an end at Sangamon County bars this summer

Bars operating outside of Springfield in Sangamon County will soon no longer be able to sell alcohol after 1 a.m.

In a split vote 21 to 5, the present 26 members of the Sangamon County Board voted to amend the county's liquor code, eliminating the sale of alcohol after one in the morning for any business operating within the Sangamon County Liquor Ordinance.

The vote came after a proposition to amend the time from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. had failed.

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“This is a big decision that affects a lot of people here … just relocating the issue and making it worse,” County Board representative Marc Ayers, D-District 12, said. “I also get this is a public safety concern. I asked my constituents what they felt, and they were wholeheartedly supportive of one o’clock so that’s what I’m going to vote for tonight.”

The amendment focuses on the Chapter 5 liquor licenses issued by Sangamon County, which are licenses for unincorporated areas of the County with proper zoning.

As the motion passed, hours of operation for several taverns across Sangamon County would roll back hours of operation to 1 a.m. by the end of the current permit on June 30 of 2024.

Special event 3 a.m. liquor licenses will not be prohibited under the new amendment.

With the resolutions passing, liquor licensed operations which previously could sell liquor between the hours of one to seven in the morning would no longer be able to, creating a hardline boundary of no alcoholic sales in Sangamon County when the clock strikes 1 a.m. on June 1, 2024.

The new 1 a.m. deadline will impact 3AA nightclubs which were able to sell alcohol until 3 a.m., and 2AA bowling alleys which previously allowed alcohol until 2 a.m.

The updated code means the four bars in the county which were allowed to sell alcohol until 3 a.m. will no longer be able to. The four bars and taverns were grandfathered in from previous permits. The other 18 bars or taverns in the county have either lost their late-night licensing through change of owner or opened after licenses stopped being given out.

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Chad Turner representing The Cove, one of the bars still holding a 3 a.m. liquor license, opposed the data presented of violence at locations open after one, citing most violence occurred around one in the morning, when 1 a.m. bars are still open.

“I was told that the basis for this was the number of incidents that have been occuring at 3 a.m. locations has been increasing in frequency and severity … the statistics related to the tavern incident reports and they simply do not bear out,” Turner said. “There were 11 assault and battery complaints dating back to January 1 of 2023 – five of them occurred after 1 a.m. One of them occurred at a licensed 1 a.m. establishment, since they’re open until 1:30.”

Sangamon County liquor licenses are separate from city of Springfield liquor licensing, which has its own list of ordinances detailing hours of operation to sell, distribute and consume liquor on business premises.

Springfield zoned establishments like Buzzbomb or Replay Lounge will not be impacted by the updated code change.

Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for the State Journal-Register. She can be reached at [email protected]; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield-area bars to end liquor sales at 1 a.m. starting in June