CITY HALL — Aldermen can now rein in businesses allowing customers to bring in their own liquor, as long as those businesses aren't restaurants.
The City Council approved a new ordinance allowing aldermen to better police so-called BYOB policies, but specifically left restaurants exempt.
Ald. Deborah Graham (29th) pushed the proposal, citing problems she'd had at a Madison Street barbershop allowing BYOB. It spurred a conflict, she said, that "spilled out into the street," the West Side alderman said.
On Wednesday, Graham called imposing a BYOB ban "a tool" for aldermen to use.
Other aldermen who supported an exemption for restaurants said BYOB had worked in those businesses without conflicts. They said the ban might create problems where there aren't any.
Aldermen can now declare neighborhoods in their wards BYOB-free if they make a case for it in an area of at least two blocks. They would need to present evidence of a persistent problem to the rest of the Council to earn passage.
