When you think of the Naperville city council, one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is alcohol. When you watch and listen to Naperville council members it becomes quite apparent that they have a genuine alcohol problem. Given the opportunity to say ‘no’ to alcohol, they just can’t seem to do it. They say they are trying to keep a lid on the problem, but their actions show otherwise.
It happened again at the last Naperville city council meeting when representatives from AMC Theaters wanted council approval to establish a movie theater liquor license classification which would allow them to sell beer, wine, and an assortment of adult spirits. The director of food and beverage for AMC said the approval would help the company “bring back adult movie-goers” to theaters.
The council bantered back and forth and decided to vote on the topic at the next Naperville city council meeting on February 4th. A simple majority of 5 is needed for approval of more alcohol being available in Naperville, and it appears, that three council members are ready to vote ‘yes’ (Brodhead, McElroy, and Wentz) meaning only two ‘yes’ votes of the remaining six are needed for the liquor to start flowing in the theater.
That means when a family attends a theater in the ‘kid friendly’ city of Naperville, in addition to people talking in the theater, and cell phones ringing, and people texting, they can add alcohol to the mix and all bets are off considering what can happen. It was just last week that Naperville city officials were giving each other a ‘high-five’ for being 3% safer than Aurora, when another murder occurred the next day in town reducing that 3% gap with Aurora.
Since when is it the responsibility of Naperville city officials to prop up an already profitable business by adding alcohol to the equation. I haven’t seen an uprising of residents wanting more alcohol served in town. I haven’t seen a petition supporting the sale of alcohol in theaters. This is a perfect time for the council to say ‘no’, but they can’t do it; they truly have an alcohol problem. What’s next, throw in some slot machines near the popcorn concession. If city officials sign-off on “bringing back adult movie-goers to theaters” with alcohol , why not simply turn it into an adult- movie theater; that should bring them back.