235 ILCS 5/9-2

(235 ILCS 5/9-2) (from Ch. 43, par. 167)

Sec. 9-2. When any legal voters of a precinct in any city, village or incorporated town of more than 200,000 inhabitants, as determined by the last preceding Federal census, desire to pass upon the question of whether the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor shall be prohibited in the precinct or at a particular street address within the precinct, they shall, at least 104 days before an election, file in the office of the clerk of such city, village or incorporated town, a petition directed to the clerk, containing the signatures of not less than 25% of the legal voters registered with the board of election commissioners or county clerk, as the case may be, from the precinct. Provided, however, that when the petition seeks to prohibit the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor at a particular street address of a licensed establishment within the precinct the petition shall contain the signatures of not less than 40% of the legal voters requested from that precinct. The petition shall request that the proposition "Shall the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor be prohibited in (or at) ....?" be submitted to the voters of the precinct at the next ensuing election at which such proposition may be voted upon. The submission of the question to the voters of such precinct at such election shall be mandatory when the petition has been filed in proper form with the clerk. If more than one set of petitions are presented to the clerk for submission at the same election, the petition presented first shall be given preference; however, the clerk shall provisionally accept any other set of petitions setting forth the same (or substantially the same) proposition. If the first set of petitions for a proposition is found to be in proper form and is not found to be invalid, it shall be accepted by the clerk and all provisionally accepted sets of petitions setting forth the same (or substantially the same) proposition shall be rejected by the clerk. If the first set of petitions for a proposition is found not to be in proper form or is found to be invalid, the clerk shall (i) reject the first set of petitions, (ii) accept the first provisionally accepted set of petitions that is in proper form and is not found to be invalid, and (iii) reject all other provisionally accepted sets of petitions setting forth the same (or substantially the same) proposition. Notice of the filing of the petition and the result of the election shall be given to the Secretary of State at his offices in both, Chicago and Springfield, Illinois. A return of the result of the election shall be made to the clerk of the city, village or incorporated town in which the precinct is located. If a majority of the voters voting upon such proposition vote "YES", the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor shall be prohibited in the precinct or at the street address. If the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor at a particular street address is prohibited pursuant to this Section, the license for any establishment at that street address shall be void, and no person may apply for a license for the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor at an establishment at that street address unless such prohibition is discontinued pursuant to Section 9-10.

In cities, villages and incorporated towns of 200,000 or less population, as determined by the last preceding Federal census, the vote upon the question of prohibiting the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor, or alcoholic liquor other than beer containing not more than 4% of alcohol by volume, or alcoholic liquor containing more than 4% of alcohol by weight in the original package and not for consumption on the premises, shall be by the voters of the political subdivision as a unit. When any legal voters of such a city, village or incorporated town desire to pass upon the question of whether the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor shall be prohibited in the municipality, they shall, at least 104 days before an election, file in the office of the clerk of the municipality, a petition directed to the clerk, containing the signatures of not less than 25% of the legal voters registered with the board of election commissioners or county clerk, as the case may be, from the municipality. The petition shall request that the proposition, "Shall the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor be prohibited in....?" be submitted to the voters of the municipality at the next ensuing election at which the proposition may be voted upon. The submission of the question to the voters of the municipality at such election shall be mandatory when the petition has been filed in proper form with the clerk. If more than one set of petitions are presented to the clerk for submission at the same election, setting forth the same or different propositions, the petition presented first shall be given preference and the clerk shall refuse to accept any other set of petitions. Notice of the filing of the petition and the result of the election shall be given to the Secretary of State at his offices in both Chicago and Springfield, Illinois. A return of the result of the election shall be made to the clerk of the city, village or incorporated town. If a majority of the voters voting upon the proposition vote "Yes", the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor shall be prohibited in the municipality.

In the event a municipality does not vote to prohibit the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor, the council or governing body shall ascertain and determine what portions of the municipality are predominantly residence districts. No license permitting the sale of alcoholic liquors shall be issued by the local liquor commissioner or licensing officer permitting the sale of alcoholic liquors at any place within the residence district so determined, unless the owner or owners of at least two-thirds of the frontage, 200 feet in each direction along the street and streets adjacent to the place of business for which a license is sought, file with the local liquor commissioner or licensing officer, his or their written consent to the use of such place for the sale of alcoholic liquors.

In each township or road district lying outside the corporate limits of a city, village or incorporated town, or in a part of a township or road district lying partly within and partly outside a city, village or incorporated town, the vote of such township, road district or part thereof, shall be as a unit. When any legal voters of any such township, or part thereof, in counties under township organization, or any legal voters of such road district or part thereof, in counties not under township organization, desire to vote upon the proposition as to whether the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor shall be prohibited in such township or road district or part thereof, they shall, at least 90 days before an election, file in the office of the township or road district clerk, of the township or road district within which the election is to be held, a petition directed to the clerk and containing the signatures of not less than 25% of the legal voters registered with the county clerk from such township or road district or part thereof. The submission of the question to the voters of the township, road district or part thereof, at the next ensuing election shall be mandatory when the petition has been filed in proper form with the clerk. If more than one set of petitions are presented to the clerk for submission at the same election, setting forth the same or different propositions, the petition presented first shall be given preference and the clerk shall refuse to accept any other set of petitions. A return of the result of such election shall be made to the clerk of the township or road district in which the territory is situated, and shall also be made to the Secretary of State at his offices in both Chicago and Springfield, Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 96-1008, eff. 7-6-10.)