GARDNER TOWNSHIP, Ill. (AP) - After more than 100 years, Prohibition could end in Gardner Township.
Jessica Podany, a partner and manager of Bomke’s Patch about three miles west of Springfield on County Lake Road, says she favors a proposal on the March 17 ballot that would allow alcohol sales in the township. Podany’s sister Jordan Byers, who heads human resources for the family business, also supports the proposal, which would allow the addition of more events for adults.
“We cater to families with small children,” Podany said of much of the activities at the Patch, which sells pumpkins and Christmas trees in season, has a petting zoo, wagon rides, and a 10-acre corn maze.
But, she added, “It would be nice to capture the customers that … are looking for more adult-type entertainment.”
Being able to charge for alcohol would be a way to increase revenue for the business, she said. And while they host an occasional wedding, she said, the number of events are limited. “One of the reasons we have never built a reception hall is because it’s dry,” she said of the township.
Terry Farmer, a township resident and owner of a photography business, is a key backer of the proposition. He said it’s not just business growth that is driving he and others to end the century-old ban on alcohol sales in the area.
“There’s a lot of people that really want convenience,” said Farmer, who has said he thinks convenience stores have avoided the area because of the limit on their business. People have to drive to Springfield for simple purchases, he added.
“For some, it’s eight, 10 miles out just to get a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread,” Farmer said. “It’s not about drinking. It’s not about having a bar. … I think it’s more about convenience and access, and I think that would help the area grow economically too.”
Supporters needed more than 900 petition signatures to get the proposition on the ballot. Farmer said he collected 800. He said perhaps 700 of the people who signed his petitions were strongly in favor of the idea, while he encountered three or four who were strongly opposed and “didn’t want to have anything to do with it.” In all, more than 1,200 signatures were submitted to get the measure on the ballot.
The law in Gardner Township - one of 26 townships in Sangamon County - is a remnant of the national prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933. In 2012, the township took an advisory vote to eliminate the alcohol ban. The vote passed with a 55-45 percent margin but was never followed up with binding action.
What Farmer calls the biggest hurdle now for advocates of alcohol sales is the wording of the referendum question which is dictated by state law. The ballot question asks: “Shall the Prohibition of the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor be continued in Gardner Township, County of Sangamon, State of Illinois?”
Voters who want to allow sales have to vote “no” on that question.
Farmer said that to make sure people understand they must vote “no” to have the local law changed, there will be direct mailing to the people who signed the petitions. There also will be signs in the township with the message: “Vote no to end prohibition in Gardner Township.”
Coyote Den is the one bar in Gardner Township. But that’s because the business existed and was grandfathered in when Salisbury Township was voted out of existence in 1989. The area was split between Gardner and Fancy Creek townships. Gardner Township has a population of about 4,300 and is located northwest of Springfield.
Podany said Bomke’s Patch has about 16,000 customers for its fall and Christmas seasons. She hopes the referendum passes. The Patch did make literature about the proposition available to customers. She said she doesn’t see a downside to allowing businesses to sell drinks “as long as everybody uses alcohol responsibly.”
And convenience is important to her as well.
“I mean, there are no gas stations remotely close to us.”
Farmer said he knows of no organized opposition to ending the township’s century-long dry spell.
Anita Bedell, executive director of Springfield-based Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems, said her group would work with opponents, but has not been contacted by anyone from the township.
Alcohol brings changes to a community, she said, and people need to weigh the impact of those changes against the convenience they seek.
When alcohol is easier to get, she said, there can be more problems of drinking and driving as well as underage consumption.
“We’re just concerned (about) making it more accessible and acceptable increases use and abuse,” Bedell said.
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Source: The (Springfield) State Journal-Register, https://bit.ly/2NXhbSO
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