City orders reported social club on Addison near Shabbona Park closed, as building had similar issues in 2023

by BRIAN NADIG

For the second time in 3 years the city of Chicago ordered a social club at a building at 6841 W. Addison St. to be closed following alleged licensing violations and cops finding guns.

At about 4:20 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 1, officers responded to a call of a woman allegedly being held against her will inside the building, according to 16th (Jefferson Park) District police.

Officers could not gain access to the building and could not hear any sounds of distress coming from anyone inside the two-story building but returned several times after the woman had called police multiple times, according to police. The woman was unable to identify which room she was in, police said.
Officers walked around the building and eventually discovered that a door was left ajar, and they entered due to a reasonable suspicion that someone inside was in distress, police said. Numerous rooms had to be cleared and secured, as officers looked for the woman, police said.

During the search they allegedly found a handgun, a rifle and ammunition, and officers reported seeing a white residue of suspected narcotics in several second-floor rooms, police said. A man inside the building later told officers the guns were his, and a name check revealed that he had a conceal carry license, police said.

Several men inside the building told officers that they were unaware of any woman there, but the woman was eventually located on the first floor, police said. She was holding a knife and appeared to be disoriented and was transported to a hospital after she was walking around outside, where the temperature was below zero, police said.

It appeared that the first floor served as a club, and the second-floor units were used to “hang out,” police said.

No arrests were reported, but on Sunday, Feb. 8, the city Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection stuck an orange sticker on the building’s front door, ordering the establishment be closed.

The cease-and-desist was issued for operating without a required liquor club license, according to the business affairs department. Citations also were issued for operating without a liquor club license, failure to display the license, allowing indoor smoking and maintaining two non-gambling devices without the required tax emblem, the department said.

A sign on a storefront for the building indicated that a dog daycare is “coming soon.”

Meanwhile on March 21, 2023, gun and drugs allegedly were found inside the building, leading to a cease-and-desist order at that time, police said.

In 2023, police reported that the building appeared to house several social clubs, including one with a bocce ball court, according to police.

In 2023 there had been a report of gunshots in the area, but members of one of the clubs reportedly told the officers they had no knowledge of gunshots, police said.

In 2023 officers also reported that they saw a woman sleeping on a mattress in one of the rooms and observed in plain view drugs, drug equipment and a semi-automatic pistol, which had no visible serial number, police said.

The woman reportedly told officers that the room is used as an after-hours club and that entrants usually pay a $10 cover charge, police said.

On March 24, 2023, the city business affairs department issued cease-and-desist orders for operating without a public place of amusement license, retail food establishment license and consumption-on-premises license to a cafe that reportedly had been located on the site, the department said.

In April of that year, about 10 building code citations were issued, including alleged violations for chipped, peeling or loose paint and defective smoke detectors, according to the city Department of Buildings.

The building is located near Shabbona Park, 6935 W. Addison St.

This is just part of today’s coverage. Get the full story - every article, every ad, every page. Subscribe now.

The Latest From Our Community