Say NO! to Tilted Kilt in Fountain Square

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MAYOR TISDAHL Said NO! to Tilted Kilt!
If you haven't thanked her yet, please do!

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Your voices have been heard! On Monday evening, May 2, Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl issued a written opinion denying this liquor license application.

Here's a link to the full text of her decision: http://www.cityofevanston.org/news/assets/titled%20kilt%20decison%205-2-11.pdf

The Mayor's decision is final unless 6 of the 9 members of the Evanston City Council vote to reverse it or Ted Mavrakis files and wins an appeal to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. Neither is likely. Still, we will keep this petition site up until June 3, after both deadlines for appeal have passed. Stay tuned!

We've sent you three letters with more details and lots of links to news coverage.

THANK YOU for your incredible efforts and CONGRATULATIONS on our victory!

Kathleen Flaherty & Cynthia Farenga

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Do you want to see a Tilted Kilt "breastaurant" when you visit Fountain Square? Do you want to inhale secondhand smoke from clusters of its customers?

Tilted Kilt poses as a family restaurant, but sells adult entertainment. "Kilt Girl" costumes and scripted behavior "cast" young women as naughty-but nice schoolgirls and invite grown men to be sexually aroused.  The tee shirts they sell show Kilt Girls draped on whiskey bottles, with slogans like "Goes Down Smooth" and "Soft Tail."

Mayor Tisdahl, our local Liquor Commissioner, held a public hearing on April 26. We presented this petition, with almost 2,000 signers. We summarized petition comments and read some of them into the record. Dozens of "SAY NO!" citizens attended. Many testified about their reasons: protecting the physical and emotional well-being of our children, fostering respect and equality for women, rejecting businesses which "normalize" sex discrimination in hiring and sexual harassment, preserving our Fountain Square as a war memorial and town square. We explained why a Tilted Kilt would diminish the appeal of our downtown as a place to shop and dine. We noted it was likely to siphon business from existing bars and restaurants. We asked whether it would really bring new customers and, if so, what kind?

Tilted Kilt's corporate reps assured the Mayor that there has never been a criminal incident at any Tilted Kilt. But a quick news search turned up 9 serious incidents, 4 at the Elgin Tilted Kilt since January -- including multiple stabbings. They insisted their costumes aren't very provocative, but the photos and videos on their website contradict them. They demanded that we not judge them by their website, but they control the content of that website.

The Mayor has issued her decision. See top for this great news!