In the case of AZ SPE, LLC v. City of Chicago and The City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, filed in the Appellate Court of Illinois, First Judicial District (Case ID: 1-22-1794), on March 28, 2024, AZ SPE, LLC (the plaintiff) is appealing against the decision of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The dispute revolves around the revocation of a retail tobacco dealer's license held by AZ SPE's former tenant due to violations committed by the tenant.
AZ SPE, an Illinois corporation specializing in gas station and convenience store properties' acquisition, development, and leasing in Chicagoland area owned a property at 401-409 E. 87th Street. In March 2018, it leased this property to ML King Gas of 87th Inc., also known as Advanced Petroleum (AP). However, on June 4, 2021, AP was notified by the City of Chicago’s Commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) about a hearing scheduled due to illegal sale of tobacco products to underage individuals at three separate occasions.
The revocation hearing resulted in the loss of AP's retail tobacco license effective from October 8, 2021. As per section 4-64-935(c) of the Municipal Code, no new tobacco license could be granted for one year for any business activity at the premises described in such revoked license unless it was entered only for licensee AP. However, no such indication was present in the revocation order.
The plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief claiming that section 4-64-935(c) deprived them of their property interest by maintaining a one-year ban on its ability to obtain or have a prospective tenant obtain a retail tobacco license at their property. They argue that they were entitled to notice prior to revocation as per procedural due process of law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 2 of the Illinois Constitution.