Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot seeks to stop liquor sales after 10pm

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is seeking to move the curfew for liquor sales in grocery and convenience stores from 2am to 10pm.

As part of a sweeping COVID-19 relieve proposal, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed banning liquor sales in the city of Chicago starting at 10pm. Previously, grocery stores and convenience stores could sell packaged beer, wine and spirits until 2am Sunday-Friday and 3am on Saturdays. Lightfoot had previously set a 9pm curfew on liquor sales at stores during the spring of 2020.

The relief package, which Lightfoot calls "Chi Biz Strong," covers everything from economic handouts to business regulations and even liquor sales. "In order to recover from this pandemic quickly and holistically, we must take bold action and reimagine how we do business here in Chicago," Lightfoot was quoted as saying in a press release. "Now is our opportunity to address the structural inequities that have held us back for so long," she said echoing the "great reset" language of other liberal politicians.

The proposal would allow the continuation of to-go cocktail deliveries and take-out, a staple of the pandemic for many businesses.

The package also has many other progressive agenda items including mandating a $15/hour minimum wage for all "domestic employees" and a "wage-theft" ordinance to help workers reclaim what City Hall claims to be "up to $400 million in wages stolen" every year by "bad-faith employers."

Under the new ordinance, grocery stores and convenience stores would be forced to stop selling packaged alcohol products from 10pm to 7am everyday except for Sunday which they would have to wait until 8am. This proves as the only relaxation as before packaged alcohol products could only be sold after 11am on Sundays.