Liquor Licenses, Video Gaming Delay Thornton’s Proposed McHenry Filling Station

McHenry’s City Council put off consideration of a proposed TIF grant of up to $1 million for a proposed Thornton’s truck stop and retail development on 7.5 acres at Route 120 and Chapel Hill Road. Council members were troubled by the developer’s request for three liquor licenses needed to support video gaming permits at the filling station and two adjacent retail spaces.

While the Council had first approved the TIF proposal in 2016 for a Ricky Rockets filling station on the site in 2016, Alderman Victor Santi explained: “It’s now 2019.In this length of time we’ve had multiple gaming discussions. The thought process has adjusted.” The City of McHenry has the greatest number of video gaming machines in the County, with 169 machines in 36 different businesses.