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ALTON – Alton is one step closer to eliminating late night liquor licenses, effectively forcing bars across the city to close at 1 a.m.
City Council members voted 5-2 to pass a resolution on Wednesday to introduce an ordinance removing a section from the Alton City Code which previously allowed for late night liquor licenses. These licenses allow businesses to sell alcohol from 1 to 2 a.m. on Monday through Friday and 1 to 3 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite several passionate public comments urging aldermen to vote the item down or delay it further, the vote tally remained unchanged from Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting. Aldermen Michael Velloff and Chris Bohn voted against eliminating late night liquor licenses, while Aldermen Martha Pfister, Rosetta Brown, John Meehan, Stephanie Elliott, and Patricia Ford voted in favor.
With the resolution approved, the item will return to the council in the form of an ordinance, which will receive a first reading without a vote before a second reading and final vote at future City Council meetings. Stay tuned to Riverbender.com for the latest coverage of these developments.
If the ordinance receives final approval, the elimination of late night liquor licenses will officially take effect on Dec. 31, 2025 – meaning all Alton bars must stop serving alcohol at 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
Public Pleads For Council To Delay Vote Or Keep Late Night Licenses
At Wednesday’s meeting, several people spoke against the elimination of late night liquor licenses, including many of those who spoke about the subject earlier this week and in August, when the item was initially tabled.
“We all want the same goal, [we’re] just a little different on how to get there, and maybe there needs to be a compromise,” Bubby & Sissy’s Co-Owner Mike Klasner said. “We all want a safe and vibrant downtown community.”
Instead of removing late night liquor licenses across the board, Klasner suggested city officials look into creating a new “Liquor Inspector” position which could investigate individual businesses for compliance issues. He also asked City Council members to consider delaying the vote on the late night license ban until February of 2026.
Danny’s Lounge Bartender Michelle Oerter presented a petition with over 500 signatures from residents of surrounding communities opposed to the elimination of late night liquor licenses in Alton. She asked council members to consider the significant impact this change would have on the city and its revenues.
“It’s going to affect the City of Alton astronomically. You’re going to lose thousands and thousands of dollars … you’re going to take away from the tourism,” Oerter said. “I don’t believe that most of you understand what’s really happening – we can’t punish the entire class for the actions of just a few.”
Danny’s Lounge Co-Owner Keith Hall expressed frustration with a lack of meetings between bar owners and city officials since the item was tabled in August until now, stating: “My words today will probably fall on deaf ears, just like all my words before – a small business like mine seems to have no voice in this city.”
Hall referenced multiple videos that were posted on the Alton Police Department’s Facebook page in the hours leading up to Wednesday’s City Council meeting which depict officers responding to various situations downtown after 1 a.m. Hall dismissed these videos, depicting incidents from April of 2024 to July of 2025, as “old videos” and “totally irreverent to the calm and safe environment that currently exists” in downtown Alton.
“Punishing every single liquor licensee in Alton is ludicrous and a great injustice … the loss of revenue to the city will be substantial – and amazingly, the city is not supplying any statistics or estimate of the losses,” Hall added. “Can Alton afford to lose businesses like mine, which has been here for nearly 75 years supporting this city?”
Local business owner Erin Frew said City Council members were “about to make a serious mistake that will harm Alton’s economy and the people who live and work here.” She criticized city officials for considering the item without a true understanding of its economic impact, urging them to delay the vote until adequate data can be presented to support the decision.
City Council Members Share Views Before Vote
When the item came up for a vote, Alderwoman Martha Pfister – who first proposed the ordinance – said she respects the public’s input, seeking a balanced approach to address downtown safety concerns.
“I care about Alton businesses, I enjoy bars, I’d like to be able to show my face in one again someday,” Pfister said, adding she’s met with multiple bar owners since introducing the item. “I respect public input, I just don’t want to strain our police resources or endanger our officers unnecessarily … I’m listening, and I’m committed to balancing public safety with support for our small business community.”
Brown said eliminating late night liquor licenses is an important step to facilitating the type of safe community she feels Alton families deserve.
“Working families deserve a safe community. If our community is not safe, money will not flow among the entrepreneurs,” Brown said. “This resolution … will ensure the welfare or our community and hopefully attract and keep solid businesses.”
Bohn said he and Velloff proposed creating a Liquor Inspector position in past meetings, but the idea had been “shot down,” urging council members to reconsider the idea in the future. He also criticized Mayor David Goins for his alleged lack of action as the city’s Liquor Commissioner to curb the problem earlier.
“This didn’t happen overnight … you as liquor commissioner and mayor could’ve squashed this from the beginning,” Bohn said to Goins. “You had two years to deal with this and you chose not to, so now we’re going to punish businesses for your lack of leadership.”
Bohn concluded by stating: “I think you’ve failed the business owners. I don’t know who would want to move to Alton and start a business, the way we treat our business owners.” Meeting attendees loudly applauded his comments shortly before the 5-2 vote was called to approve the resolution.
A full recording of the Nov. 12, 2025 Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
