Gov ready to toast ‘cocktails-to-go’ — but Lightfoot wants a chaser

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday said he’ll sign legislation that will legalize “cocktails-to-go” to aid ailing business owners during the pandemic.

What that will look like in Chicago — a hot spot for COVID-19 — and when that may happen remains unclear.

While Mayor Lori Lightfoot is supportive of the plan, mayoral aides say they are exploring changes to it. That’s allowed under the legislation, which gives municipalities local control to either opt out or make changes.

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for June 17, and it’s unlikely a meeting would be called earlier to take up the plan.

Under the measure — which passed with bipartisan support in both the Illinois House and Senate on Saturday — restaurants and bars would be able to sell cocktails in sealed, tamperproof containers. Any alcoholic beverages transported in a vehicle would have to be placed in the trunk or in an area inaccessible to the driver.

Those picking up the alcohol would also be carded. The measure changes the Illinois Liquor Control Act to allow bars and restaurants to sell the cocktails for one year. But many hope that will be extended.

The governor said he is eager to sign it into law.

It’s a direct effort to try to help the more than 300,000 people who are unemployed in the hospitality industry right now. Under Pritzker’s reopening plan, bars and restaurants won’t be able to reopen until the fourth phase. The state is set to enter the third phase of reopening on Friday.

That leaves few options for restaurants and bars to make money during the summer when most establishments experience peak business.

Bill sponsor state Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-Riverside, said he believes Lightfoot could clear up some concerns with a simple ordinance that would limit the number of cocktails-to-go and ensure the beverages won’t be consumed in the public way.

State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, who sponsored the measure in the Senate, said the mayor and her team are working on folding cocktails-to-go into their plan for sidewalk cafe service. It would be offered up as an option since bars will not reopen immediately.