Some west suburban residents are hoping their village officials will put a stop to a unique gun range that would also sell alcohol to its customers.
Willowbrook residents like Zoltan Baksay oppose the gun range and liquor lounge that would be offered by the Chicago Gun Club at 79th Street and Frontage Road.
“I’m just against mixing guns and alcohol under the same roof,” Baksay says. “Any combination of firearms ammunition and alcohol sales under the same roof is a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion.”
The gun club would be not far from Baksay’s home—and he says noise and overall safety could be an issue.
In response to the effort to bring that gun range to Willowbrook, Baksay started an online petition to stop it.
“We have over 500 signatures opposing this gun range,” he says. “We are putting out the word.”
At first Willowbrook’s Mayor Frank Trilla described the idea of mixing a gun range with alcohol in his village as a “crazy idea”, but says he visited a similar establishment in Oklahoma to do his homework.
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As far as issues with noise from weapons, Trilla says he stood in "one of these places" and could not hear the guns.
Trilla also says the owners will not allow members to drink and then shoot—and if you want to drink, you have to be a VIP member and pay $5,000 a year to have access to the bar area.
The mayor says the gun club would be “manned by police” and located right next to a police station.
But that doesn’t ease Baksay’s concerns, he says.
“You are still mixing alcohol and guns and ammunition under the same roof and humans have a tendency to be irresponsible at times,” Baksay says.
A meeting in Willowbrook was scheduled to discuss the proposed business Monday night.
