The Dime Bar Ordered To Close After Fatal Lincoln Park Shooting

LINCOLN PARK — The Dime bar in Lincoln Park has been ordered to close after police learned a fatal shooting Sunday night stemmed from a fight that started inside, Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) announced Tuesday.

In a newsletter to neighbors, Knudsen said Police Interim Supt. Fred Waller issued a closure order for The Dime, 2263 N. Lincoln Ave., after determining the bar posed a public safety threat. The move comes two days after a 30-year-old man was fatally shot during a fight near Lincoln and Webster avenues. Police said a person is in custody with charges pending.

Knudsen has spent the past few months pushing for more oversight of the bar following a separate shooting in June that critically wounded a woman nearby. Tuesday’s closure followed “sustained advocacy and pressure” from his office, he said.

The Dime has not responded to Block Club’s requests for comment.

A summary closure order allows the police superintendent to immediately shut down a business when the department determines it poses a public safety threat because a violent crime is directly connected to the establishment. The closure can remain in effect for up to six months.

The Dime could reopen sooner if it reaches a nuisance abatement agreement with the city that addresses security measures, surveillance cameras, operating hours and other public safety concerns, Knudsen said. Otherwise, the business will be closed during the order.

The closure is separate from permanently revoking the bar’s liquor license, a process overseen by the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and the Local Liquor Control commissioner.

Knudsen said his office will continue advocating for that outcome, and he plans to involve residents in the process.

“Summary closures are rare, and this is a step that is not taken lightly,” Knudsen wrote, noting the city has used the authority fewer than 10 times per year on average since the ordinance allowing the orders took effect in 2015.