40s and ‘tall boys’ back: Cahokia lifts ban on sales of single beers

The Cahokia Village Board has voted to lift the village’s ban on the sale of singe beers, including 24-ounce “tall boy” cans and 40-ounce bottles.

The board, at its meeting Thursday, also voted to amend an ordinance that limited liquor licenses in the village, and to return liquor licenses to the businesses that the former mayor took away from them.

Trustee Terry Nichols asked Mayor Curtis McCall Jr. if he planned to give liquor licenses that former Mayor Gary Cornwell had taken away from business owners.

McCall said he was allowing stores to get liquor licenses and they would be allowed to sell individual containers.

McCall said people who want to buy single containers of beer having been leaving Cahokia to purchase them elsewhere, then returning to Cahokia with the beers. He said it didn’t make sense for the village not to capture some of those sales.

Trustee Jerry Nichols questioned the move.

“We stopped all that. People couldn’t just walk up and down the street with with open liquor. We stopped the sale of 40-ouncers.”

Nichols asked McCall if just anybody was going to be allowed to get liquor licenses.

McCall responded, “Not just anybody. They will need to come see me and I will approve it.”

Nichols asked whether the store which is near a school would be allowed to have a license. With the owner of that business seated in the audience, McCall said, “No.”

He said he had talked to the business owner, who understood why he would not be allowed to get a license. The business owner acknowledged that that was correct information stated by McCall.

After the meeting, McCall said he will determine on a case-by-case basis how many liquor licenses he will give out. He said he is looking to increase the licenses by a a few because the more businesses Cahikia has, the more tax revenue the village gets.

McCall said there will be no loitering or littering at any businesses. He said merely allowing the businesses to sell liquor and adding a few doesn’t mean the village will relax its laws.

Trustee Jeffery Radford said he voted in favor of amending the liquor laws because “it took tax revenue away” from the village.

“Some of the businesses were barely hanging on and were about ready to close down — they probably would have if they didn’t get their liquor licenses back. Some of the liquor stores, gas stations were just trying to stay afloat,” Radford said.

He said he is relying on the police department to enforce the laws and maintain public safety.

Trustee Phyllis Pearson said amending the liquor laws means more tax revenue for the village.

Cornwell, who was recently defeated by McCall in the mayoral election, said afterward that McCall is giving liquor licenses to individuals who supported his campaign financially. McCall denied that politics had anything to do with it.

“We need businesses and we need revenue. That’s what this is about,” McCall said.

Cornwell said some of the liquor establishments accounted for a lot of police time. “They received a lot of calls for littering,” he said.

Cornwell said it was better to only allow people to buy beer by the six- or 12-pack. Cornwell also said liquor sales did not generate a lot of revenue for the village.

When the meeting started, McCall announced that Trustee Joe Weatherford had resigned from the board after the last meeting. He read a resignation letter aloud to the crowd. The mayor announced that Rhonda Wofford would be taking his place.

Nichols objected to Wofford taking a seat on the board, saying it was a conflict of interest because her husband. Ralph Wofford “cuts grass for the board and is getting paid by the board.”

Village Board Attorney Robert Sprague said there was no conflict of interest. The board voted 5-1 in favor of Wofford becoming the new trustee. Nichols was the lone dissenting vote.

This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 9:50 PM with the headline "40s and ‘tall boys’ back: Cahokia lifts ban on sales of single beers."