March 30, 2023
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ACLU calls Lake in the Hills actions toward UpRising Bakery unconstitutional

Village maintains its decisions are based on zoning code, which don’t permit entertainment events

People walk into Uprising Bakery & Cafe in Lake in the Hills, Monday, July 26, 2022, after the store reopened Sunday after its front windows were smashed and epithets written on the walls, to long lines and enthusiastic community support. The cafe, which was planning to host an all-ages drag show Saturday night, had experienced backlash over the previous few weeks.

People walk into Uprising Bakery & Cafe in Lake in the Hills in this Monday, July 26, 2022, file photo. The store reopened Sunday after its front windows were smashed and epithets written on the walls, to long lines and enthusiastic community support. The cafe, which was planning to host an all-ages drag show Saturday night, had experienced backlash over the previous few weeks. (Gregory Shaver - gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver Shaw Media )

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union are calling Lake in the Hills’ actions toward UpRising Bakery and Cafe unconstitutional after the village told the business last week it could no longer host events.

In a letter responding to the ACLU on Monday, village attorney Bradford Stewart, keeping with previous statements from the village, said the reason for the village’s actions are due to the zoning code. Specifically, the village contends UpRising is located in a zone that does not allow for “entertainment events.”

The exchange between the village and the business comes just a week after UpRising planned to host a family-friendly drag show, which was a ticketed event. The show in the weeks leading up to it drew much criticism, with harassment and threats being directed toward UpRising owner Corinna Bendel Sac.

The night before the show, the shop was vandalized, which led to the show being canceled. A week later, the village told the business it could no longer host entertainment events due to zoning issues.

Despite this, the village maintained heavy police presence around the building both before and after the vandalism and had planned for police to monitor potential protests planned to take place during the drag show.

In response to the vandalism, the business received an outpouring of support from the community.

In a letter Saturday to the village, attorney Rebecca Glenberg with the ACLU asked the village not to take “enforcement actions” against UpRising for hosting a number of different events. It adds that while the village seemed supportive of the business at first, it’s now “chosen instead to give the person who attacked and vandalized UpRising exactly what he apparently wanted.”

The village on its end has told Bendel Sac that fines and revocation of business licenses could happen if she hosts anymore events, according to the ACLU letter. Bendel Sac, in previous social media posts, has said her bakery regularly has hosted events, calling the village’s actions a “conspiracy” to stop her business.

In the village’s Monday letter, the village reiterated that the business is not able to host such events due to the zone that it’s in. It adds that the village isn’t concerned with the contents of the event being hosted. Rather, it’s all events that are multi-hour and require paid admission.

To that end, the village never asked for other events, such as a writing workshop, to be canceled, according to the letter. Following the disagreement, UpRising canceled a slate of events, both ticketed and non-ticketed.

“It is a bakery and café, not an entertainment hall,” the letter states. “The landlord [of the building] also made clear that the lease agreement did not contemplate any type of entertainment as a permitted activity in the space.”

In previous releases, the village also has noted complaints received from neighboring businesses in the Cedar Ridge Plaza strip center, where UpRising is located. Those complaints are tied to disruptions to business and parking issues. The village in Monday’s letter also noted that the center is near a residential area.

Further action could be coming from the ACLU, according to its letter from Saturday. It asks the village to preserve all records in light of possible litigation. It also alleged that Bendel Sac is still receiving hate mail and threats.

In a separate statement on Monday, officials defended the village’s actions, saying it has “demonstrated unwavering support to UpRising.”

“It is disheartening that our actions are now being portrayed in a different light,” the statement reads. “The village learned that the business model for the bakery and café has fundamentally changed, requiring the village to address zoning concerns.”