Carlisi v. Illinois Liquor Control Commission

253 N.E.2d 560, 116 Ill. App. 2d 350, 1969 Ill. App. LEXIS 1571
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 10, 1969
DocketGen. 52,899
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 253 N.E.2d 560 (Carlisi v. Illinois Liquor Control Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carlisi v. Illinois Liquor Control Commission, 253 N.E.2d 560, 116 Ill. App. 2d 350, 1969 Ill. App. LEXIS 1571 (Ill. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinions

MR. JUSTICE MURPHY

delivered the opinion of the court.

This is an administrative review action in which the Circuit Court affirmed the revocation of plaintiff’s State retail liquor license by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, on the ground that plaintiff was not a resident of the municipality in which the licensed premises were located. On appeal the determinative issue is whether the findings of the Commission were contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence presented.

Plaintiff was issued a retail liquor license effective July 1, 1967, for premises located at 3500 South Laramie Avenue, Cicero, Illinois. On October 27, 1967, the Rlinois Liquor Control Commission issued a citation and notice of hearing to the plaintiff, charging him with the violation of the following provision of the Illinois Liquor Control Act (Ill Rev Stats 1965, c 43) :

“120. Persons ineligible to license.] § 2. No license of any kind issued by the State Commission or any local commission shall be issued to:
“(1) A person who is not a resident of the city, village or county in which the premises covered by the license are located; except in case of railroad or boat licenses.”

After a hearing and on December 14, 1967, the Commission entered an order which included the following:

“This Commission having heard and considered the evidence, both oral and documentary, in support of the allegations contained in said Citation and Notice of Hearing, a copy of which was duly served upon the respondent licensee, at the hearing held at Chicago, Illinois, on December 12, A. D. 1967, and the respondent licensee having been represented by counsel and this Commission being fully advised, FINDS:
“That the evidence adduced at the hearing supported the charge contained in Citation and Notice of Hearing that the licensee did not in fact reside in Cicero, Illinois; whereas his application for a State Retail Liquor License states that he lived at 3500 South Laramie Avenue, Cicero, Illinois; whereas in fact, he resides at 5837 Maple, Berkeley, Illinois.
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the State Retail Liquor License No. R-11905 issued to ALFONSO CARLISI, d/b/a Al’s Place, at the aforesaid address, be and the same is hereby REVOKED.”

On December 28, 1967, a final order was entered by the Commission denying plaintiff’s application for a rehearing.

In support of the charges the Commission’s evidence included Exhibits 1, 2 and 3, which were received into evidence over the objection of plaintiff. Exhibit 1 is a certification from the Village Clerk of the Village of Berkeley, Illinois, of a 1967 vehicle license tag issued in the name of Alfonso Carlisi, with the address of 5837 Maple Avenue, Berkeley, Illinois; Exhibit 2 is a certified copy of a voter’s registration card in the name of Alfonso Carlisi, the address is 5837 Maple, Berkeley, Illinois, and it is certified by the Village Clerk on October 23, 1967; Exhibit 3 is a certified copy of a water bill in the name of Alfonso Carlisi, with the address 5837 Maple Avenue, Berkeley, Illinois, and bearing dates from January 1, 1967, through September 1, 1967, and certified on October 23,1967.

A witness for the Commission, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, identified the Commission’s Exhibit 5, purporting to be a certified copy of an application for a 1967 automobile license in the name of Alfonso Carlisi, 5837 Maple Avenue, Berkeley, for a 1966 Chrysler. He further testified that in the course of his official duties he visited the premises at 3500 South Laramie, Cicero, on November 13, 1967. He was accompanied by a special agent of the FBI. He visited and examined the premises in the early afternoon between 1:00 and 2:00 p. m. He described the premises at length.

On cross-examination this witness stated that he had walked from the barroom portion into the banquet area about ten feet and looked around. He then walked into the interior section. This was the extent of his examination of the premises. He didn’t recall whether there were kitchen facilities in the place. He also didn’t recall seeing any stairway going downstairs as well as upstairs.

Another FBI agent testified that he knew plaintiff but, in attempting to identify him, identified a Mr. Tornabene as Mr. Carlisi. He had interviewed a man who identified himself as Alfonso Carlisi back in 1966.

Plaintiff was called as a witness by the Commission. He identified his application for the license and stated: “I live at 3500 South Laramie.” He was familiar with the address 5837 Maple Street, Berkeley, Illinois, “because my family live there. They have lived there since we bought the place three or four years ago.” He had been the licensee of the Starlight Inn in Cicero for thirteen years. At 3500 South Laramie he rents the whole first floor and has a room off the dining room in the same building.

Plaintiff further testified that for "the thirteen years he had been a liquor licensee, he has “never been called before the Commission or any Board with reference to the manner in which I have operated it.” During the years 1964, 1965, 1966 and the beginning of 1967, he was residing at the Tomabene home, going to his family abode in Berkeley on Sunday morning. He would not return to the tavern at any time on Sunday. While he was the licensee at 3500 South Laramie Avenue, he resided there six nights a week. He had a room off the dining room. There was also a kitchen. He then identified photos taken of the living premises, which were admitted into evidence.

Plaintiff also offered the testimony of the following witnesses:

(1) George Sedler, a neighbor, who said that he knew plaintiff and occasionally went to the tavern for lunch and in the evening after work. He had occasion to be in the dining area. There is a stairway going down out of the dining area that leads to a bedroom. He knew that plaintiff occupied that bedroom during the months he was a patron. He had seen plaintiff going down there.
(2) Richard Beckwett, a realtor, who testified that he had been to the tavern about three times a week for the past five and one-half months. He had seen the physical layout of the premises on the first floor of the building. There is a stairway leading down to a room that contains a dresser, metal chest, bed and cabinet.
(3) Mrs. Mary Tornabene, who testified that plaintiff is her husband’s first cousin, and that she knew plaintiff and his wife quite well. Plaintiff had lived in her home during 1964,1965 and 1966 in a room upstairs.
(4) Mrs. Emily Carlisi, who testified that she was plaintiff’s wife and they had been married 29 years. They have two daughters and a son. The older daughter was 28, the younger daughter 12, and the son was 23. She said that “in all the years that I have lived in Berkeley, my husband has lived with me and my son and my daughters on Sunday. He was only home on Sunday because of his business. The Starlight Tavern was closed on Sundays. The one he has now is not closed on Sundays.” She had occasion to visit the premises at 3500 South Laramie Avenue.

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Carlisi v. Illinois Liquor Control Commission
253 N.E.2d 560 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1969)

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Bluebook (online)
253 N.E.2d 560, 116 Ill. App. 2d 350, 1969 Ill. App. LEXIS 1571, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carlisi-v-illinois-liquor-control-commission-illappct-1969.