A second Forest Park bar has won an appeal in front of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC) after the group voted to overturn a 20-day suspension against Lantern Haus, 7414 Madison St., last month.
The ruling was announced at an ILCC meeting but will not be official until a written order is issued, something that could happen as early as this week.
Lantern Haus joins the Forest Park Tap Room in successfully challenging a decision made by Forest Park Mayor/Liquor Commissioner Rory Hoskins. The oft-maligned Tap Room was cited for several violations of its liquor license in 2021 and eventually had its license revoked in full, but that decision was overturned earlier this year and the bar has since reopened.
The ILCC routinely hears cases from various liquor license holders challenging the decisions of local liquor officials. Decisions to overturn local rulings are uncommon but not unprecedented, an ILCC official told the Review.
Lantern Haus had its liquor license suspended by Hoskins last August, nearly two months after a fight broke out near the bar. Patrick Jacknow, Lantern Haus’ owner, responded to that 20-day suspension in federal court, claiming Hoskins acted improperly and unfairly in suspending the bar’s license. That federal lawsuit remains pending.
The ILCC challenge filed by Lantern Haus was mostly a symbolic one, since Hoskins rescinded the bar’s 20-day suspension when the federal lawsuit was filed. The bar has been open and operating this year.
Additional details regarding the commission’s rationale for its decision are expected to be released in the written order.
