Longtime late-night Chicago bar Tai’s Til 4 will get to keep the party going until 4 a.m. in the Lakeview neighborhood, after an effort by neighbors to vote the precinct dry failed Tuesday by a wide margin.
A referendum to outlaw the takeaway sale of drinks with an alcohol content above 4% in the precinct west of Wrigleyville failed 63% to 37%, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners unofficial vote totals.
Had it passed, it would have effectively shuttered Tai’s, which has been open near the corner of Ashland Avenue and Addison Street since 1961, since nearly all beer and liquor have alcohol by volume that exceeds the 4% threshold.
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A letter sent to registered voters in the precinct by supporters of the referendum who wanted the bar closed pointed to a February shooting outside Tai’s as merely the latest trouble there.
But Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, sent his own letter to residents urging them to vote against the referendum.
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