A Cook County judge has upheld Blue Island’s revocation of business licenses for the Raven’s Place and The Vault, that followed three shootings in city parking lots involving people who left the businesses.
Cook County Judge Alison Conlon affirmed the city’s order, finding Raymond Thomas, the manager of the two businesses, should have had more security to protect people in and around the businesses.
“The court views the city’s position to be that, given the history of shooting incidents, (the business owner) knew or should have known that failure to have adequate security outside its premises was a threat to its patrons and the surrounding community,” Conlon wrote in a June 9 ruling.
Blue Island Mayor Fred Bilotto said in a statement that he was pleased with the ruling upholding an action taken to ensure the safety of residents.
Business officials did not return requests for comment. The businesses, located next to each other in the 13000 block of Western Avenue, have been closed since New Year’s Eve following the most recent shooting. City officials said the business licenses were not renewed for 2023.
After a May 2021 shooting at The Vault, Bilotto and city staff met with the owner and manager of Raven’s Place and The Vault to draft a safety agreement “designed to help prevent future incident.”
Bilotto, as liquor commissioner, revoked the liquor licenses for Raven’s Place and The Vault following a Sept. 17, 2022 shooting outside of Raven’s Place, where two people were injured, said city administrator Thomas Wogan.
The business leaders appealed the decision to the state Liquor Control Commission, stating the September shooting took place in a municipal parking lot across from Raven’s Place. The businesses were allowed to reopen until the appeal was heard, Wogan said.
On New Year’s Eve, police charged Kenya Walton, 37, of Chicago, with reckless discharge of a firearm outside the Double Play Saloon, in the 13000 block of Western Avenue, a block away from Raven’s Place and The Vault. Walton told police she left The Vault with her friends and “made a dumb decision” to shoot her gun into the air, according to the police report.
“It further drove home the point that the establishment has become dangerous to the city,” Wogan previously said about the New Year’s Eve shooting.
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office said Friday Walton’s case is pending.
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Bilotto issued a revocation order Jan. 10 closing the businesses, in which he stated Raven’s Place is a nuisance after “a pattern of reckless, harmful, and negligent conduct” by the business leadership.
The City Council upheld the mayor’s revocation Jan. 24.
“We expected this. There was no surprise,” Thomas said after the meeting. “Now, it’s time to go to court.”
In the order, Conlon wrote that while Thomas wasn’t responsible for monitoring or providing security for municipal parking lots, that “does not necessarily mean that the shooting incident was entirely out of plaintiff’s control.”
While Thomas stated 16 security guards were working New Year’s Eve, he also stated the security guards were not patrolling outside of the businesses, Conlon wrote.
“(Thomas’) rely on the argument that anything outside of its premises is entirely outside of its control. The court agrees with the city that this view by (Thomas) appears to be ignoring, or, at best, minimizing, the history of dangerous shooting incidents involving patrons of Raven’s Place,” Conlon wrote.
During the case, Thomas also argued his due process rights were violated because hearsay evidence was allowed during city hearings to revoke the business licenses. After reviewing the record, Conlon wrote she did not see instances of his due process rights being violated.