A Visit To City Hall

We heard from a reader who went downtown for the License Committee meeting where lifting the package liquor moratorium at Wilson & Broadway was scheduled to be discussed:

"I had just enough time to scramble downtown for the meeting with some comments at the ready. It was up in the air if they were going to meet, but Ald. Schulter was correct that they postponed the committee.

I did, however, have a few minutes in the hall to discuss it with the various committee members that were standing around waiting to see where and if the meeting was being held (at least they don't know things any sooner than we do apparently). One gentleman (sorry, I didn't catch his name) asked me if I was really there for this meeting with a bit of confusion in his voice. He said that these meetings were always pretty procedural and that nobody ever comes to them.

Then he asked me what the issue was, why I was there. I asked him point blank if he'd ever walked the intersection of Wilson/Broadway, to which there was silence except for Gene Schulter's chuckle. I gave him a basic rundown, and he said "oh, so residents are concerned?" to which I emphatically replied YES.  I also told him that had there been more than a few hours notice we would have 50 residents there except for just me, I just happened to be able to make it.

Then up walks H-Shil and I overhear her discuss with the committee head that she is waiting on letters from Aldi and the McJunkin building (!!!) so she wouldn't be ready today.

I pressed the committee head on just when the next meeting would be -- he said late August most likely. I find it telling that when I asked him how I could be sure not to miss it, he didn't even mention asking our alderman.  He said to go to the city clerk website and look for the schedule for the "Committee on License and Consumer Protection."

I pressed all of them that I had their word that it was not going to be heard today, so if they snuck it through in spite of that I will THROW. A. CONNIPTION.

What this leads me to believe is that if they were shocked to see just me there willing to speak, if we as a community continue to put in calls and--most importantly--have a bigger showing at the next meeting they will not know what to do. My only hope is that we can give the rubber stamp enough pause to leave on the books something the community had to fight for."