A suburban strip club that was a centerpiece of a 2012 federal prosecution is back in the news — this time over attempts by the new owner to secure a liquor license more than a decade after the business lost the right to sell alcohol.
In public meetings in June and August, the Kane County liquor commission refused to grant a license to Blackjacks Gentlemen’s Club, located on Route 25 near South Elgin.
But a lawyer for the establishment, Brittany Pedersen, said she’s since been in touch with the county’s attorneys to try to come to a better understanding of options to avoid litigation if possible, believing the club has a solid argument for a license.
“We’re hopeful we’ll either be able to have our old application heard again, or submit a new one,” Pedersen said. “I do not think this is over.”
This is at least the third attempt by Blackjacks or prospective buyers of the club to win a liquor license since the last one was lost around the time of the 2012 prosecution of the establishment’s then-operators, Dominic Buttitta and his son Anthony Buttitta.
They were charged by federal authorities with tax fraud and running an illegal gambling ring. Among other things, the men were accused of collecting $3.7 million in “house fees” from dancers at the club, and hiding the payments from the IRS.
The men landed in prison and continued to run Blackjacks from there — reportedly with a net profit of $1 million a year, according to a 2015 news account.
A real estate company run by the men, A & D L.L.C., still owns the property, but they do not own the club, which remains at the same address with the same name. The owner is Elgin Entertainment Holdings Inc., controlled by Anthony Buttitta’s relative, Ann Marie Buttitta, according to records and interviews.
Her company was the applicant for the liquor license and, at the June commission meeting, she tried to dispel concerns raised earlier by a member of the public about her age, saying: “Being a grandmother doesn’t mean I can’t work.”
She said a liquor license would lead to more hiring and “definitely increase our revenue and sales tax obligations.”
It would also tighten the rules governing the strip club, which has been open since at least 1996 and currently allows all-nude women and patrons as young as 18.
If the business secured a liquor license, the dancers could no longer be totally naked, and customers would have to be 21 or older.
But that didn’t allay everyone’s concerns, with critics saying they fear there would be more drunken patrons and other problems that could strain police resources in the unincorporated area patrolled by the Kane County sheriff.
One of the members of the liquor commission, Kane County Board Member Dale Berman, made it clear he not only was voting against the application, but he doesn’t like the idea of such clubs.
“I do see a problem with having females in some method of undress, either performing or available,” said Berman, a North Aurora Democrat. “I suppose that comes from, I have a wife, four daughters, a daughter-in-law and seven granddaughters.
“Certainly there are people that enjoy that and that’s fine, but I don’t feel that we need to give a liquor license to someone to have that available.”
That led Pedersen to shoot off a letter to the panel threatening litigation, saying that Buttitta’s “constitutional rights were violated” by Berman’s stance.
Another controversy surrounding the application involved the liquor commission chairwoman, Kane County Board Chairwoman Corinne Pierog, whose campaign accepted three donations totaling $2,000 in 2024 and 2023 from A & D.
Geneva resident Kathy Showalter took Pierog to task for accepting the money, saying at the initial commission meeting: “Shame on you for taking funds from this establishment to help run your campaign.”
A Batavia Democrat, Pierog abstained from the vote.
She released a written statement to the Chicago Sun-Times saying, “All required procedures for reviewing liquor license applications were followed. Any further action in this matter rests with the club owners.”
Anthony Buttitta defended the campaign contributions, saying of Pierog: “She took money from my real estate company and I also made donations to 10 other people. I’m not gaining anything . . . my mother is applying for the liquor license and I’m not.”
County board member Cliff Surges, a Gilberts Republican who sits on the commission and was another “no” vote on the liquor license, said it “adds a little bit of mud to the water” that the club remains in the same family.