Suburban strip club with sordid past wins back liquor license over objections by some locals

The fight over whether a South Elgin area strip club can reclaim a coveted liquor license appears to be over, with Kane County Board members who sit on the local Liquor Control Commission recently granting the business permission to start selling alcohol despite pushback from residents and a sordid history with the club.

That lays the groundwork for Blackjacks Gentlemen’s Club to bring in a lot more cash and customers, with 81-year-old owner Ann Marie Buttitta also saying she’s going to be quickly hiring another 15 or so people.

The change is likely to bring in more tax revenue for local government, too.

But that was of little solace to residents who spoke out at Wednesday’s public meeting before the license was approved — and at two meetings last year at which the license attempt was rejected — raising concerns about whether there will be increased crime, and the trustworthiness of the club operator.

“It did not work out the first time,” Sugar Grove resident Brian Anderson said.

The club’s previous liquor license was revoked amid the 2012 prosecution of the establishment’s father-and-son operators at the time, Dominic and Anthony Buttitta.

They were charged by federal authorities with tax fraud and running an illegal sports gambling ring. Among other things, the men were accused of collecting $3.7 million in “house fees” from dancers at the club over a number of years, and hiding the payments from the IRS.

The men landed in prison and continued to run Blackjacks from behind bars — with a net profit of $1 million a year, according to published accounts.

A real estate company run by the men, A & D L.L.C., still owns the property in unincorporated Kane County, but they do not own the club, which remains at the same address with the same name. Rather, the owner is Elgin Entertainment Holdings Inc., owned by Ann Marie Buttitta, according to records and interviews.

She identified Anthony as her son — who serves as a “marketing consultant” to the club — and Dominic as her ex-husband who she insists plays no direct role in the business.

Anderson said in his public remarks that the business’ change in leadership could be compared to “moving a few chess pieces.”

Regardless, the liquor panel voted 3-1 to award the license, bringing an end, at least for now, to the turmoil that’s surrounded the effort.

At public meetings in June and August, the liquor commission refused to grant Blackjacks a license, with one of the members at the time, Dale Berman, raising moral objections to the nature of the club.

“I do see a problem with having females in some method of undress, either performing or available,” Berman, who was one of five Kane County Board members on the panel, said at the time.

Berman voted against the license last year and the effort failed on a 2-2 tie. The chairwoman of the panel, Corinne Pierog, abstained from voting after questions were raised about her taking campaign money from A & D.

Buttitta’s attorney Brittany Pedersen raised the possibility of suing the county, as exotic dancing is generally regarded as legally protected under the First Amendment, and Blackjacks apparently had met all the legal requirements for a license.

Berman died in October and Pierog — who is also chairwoman of the County Board — appointed County Board Member Alex Arroyo to the liquor commission in Berman’s place. On Wednesday, he voted in favor of the license.

Pierog described the criticism about her taking campaign contributions from A & D as a “tempest in a teapot,” and said she’s glad that Blackjacks will no longer be allowed to admit patrons as young as 18.

A liquor license means nobody under 21 is allowed — and that strippers can no longer be totally nude.

Ann Marie Buttitta said she won’t be taking advantage of another potential perk associated with liquor licenses: the ability to apply for a video gambling license that could bring in even more money.

“We think the right thing happened today,” Pedersen said after the meeting.

Anne Marie Buttitta said, “They should have never turned us down.”

Anderson thinks otherwise, saying a liquor license “isn’t a given, it’s a privilege.”