The bar on North Lincoln Avenue was shut under a Summary Closure Order days after a fight at a party ended with a man being shot dead — and the local alderman is now pushing for the venue to lose its liquor licence for good.
A bar in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighbourhood has been shut down by police, days after a fight at a party there ended in a man being shot dead. The Dime, at 2263 North Lincoln Avenue, was closed on Tuesday morning under a Summary Closure Order issued by Interim and Acting Police Superintendent Fred Waller, according to local alderman Timmy Knudsen. The shooting claimed the life of 30-year-old Malik McCorkle, who was struck after the trouble spilled out of the venue and later died in hospital.
Knudsen, the 43rd Ward alderman, said the closure followed a lengthy campaign by his office. “This morning, following sustained advocacy and pressure from our office, Chicago Police Interim and Acting Superintendent Fred Waller ordered The Dime closed immediately under a Summary Closure Order,” he wrote on Tuesday. “In partnership with the local community, my office has pushed for further restrictions and investigation of this bar due to several years of safety incidents.”
The order does not amount to a permanent revocation of The Dime’s liquor licence, Knudsen’s office said — a step that would involve a longer process through the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and the Local Liquor Control Commission.
“My office will continue to advocate for that permanent step, building on our push earlier this summer for stronger restrictions on this stretch of Lincoln Avenue,” Knudsen wrote. The alderman has also said police will step up patrols near the area, with permanent patrols in place at weekends.
Fight spilled onto the street
According to police, the violence began at 11:43pm when a fight broke out inside a bar in the 2200 block of North Lincoln Avenue, close to the six-way junction with Webster Avenue and Larrabee Street/Geneva Terrace. The confrontation moved outside, where someone drew a gun and opened fire on the 30-year-old. McCorkle was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died.
A strip already under scrutiny
The Dime had attracted concern well before the killing. Last month, a shooting on the same stretch of Lincoln Avenue left a 39-year-old woman critically wounded, and residents pointed to activity at the bar as a source of the problems. Locals told CBS News Chicago that they keep away from their windows for fear of gunfire from the large parties that pour out of the venue into the street every weekend.
