ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

January

7,

1982

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

)

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 80—114

FRED A,

KRAEMER,

d~~lb/a

CAROL’S SPEAKEASY,

Respondent.

MR. WILLIAM

J, BARSANO, JR., ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL,

APPEARED OW

BEHALF

OF THE COMPLAINANT.

MR. ALLEN

S. GABE, ATTORNEY AT LAW, APPEARED ON BEHALF

OF THE RESPONDENT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by N.E. Werner):

This matter comes before the Board on the June

2,

1980

Complaint brought by the People of the State of Illinois0

Count

I of the Complaint alleged that, from April

17,

1979

until June

2,

1980, the Respondent,

Fred A. Eraemer,

d/b/a Carol’s

S~akeasy(“Kraemer”),

allowed the emission of sound

beyond the

boundaries of his property continuously oausi.ng noise pollution

which unreasonably interfered with the use and enjoyment of

neighboring proper~•t.y in violation of Rule 102 of Chapter

8~

Noise Regulations

(“Chapter 8”)

and Seotion 24 of the

Illinois

Environmental Protection Act

(“Act”),

Count II alleged that,

from April

17,

1979 until June

2,

1980

(including,

hut not limited to,

April

17,

1979, August

23,

1979,

November 17,

1979, and May

3,

1980),

Kraemer allowed impulse

sound

in excess of allowable sound levels to be emitted from a

property—

line-noise source located on the Respondent~sproperty

(Class

B)

to different points measured within residential property

(Class A)

in the vicinity of Kraemer’s property during the nighttime

hours

in violation of Rule 206 of Chapter

S and Section 24 of the

Act,

A hearing was held on July 20,

1981 at which an unsigned

Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement,

which was

substantially

identical to the subsequently signed Stipulation (except that

the amount of the proposed monetary penalty was left open),

was

initialed by counsel

for the Respondent and by the Assistant

Attorney General, examined by interested members of the

public,

and incorporated into the hearing record,

(R.

3—4).

Nine

members

of the public testified at this hearing.

The parties filed a

signed Stipulation and Proposal

for Settle:ment on December 2,

1981.

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The Respondent operates a disco bar known as Carol’s

Speakeasy which is located at

1355 N. Wells

Street in Chicago,

Illinois.

At this establishment,

music

is “broadcast over

speakers at various sound levels”,

and the “Respondent controls

the sound levels at which the music is broadcasted by the use of

an amplification system”.

(Stip.

2).

In response to numerous complaints by neighboring residents,

the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency conducted noise

surveys on April

17,

1979, August 23, 1979~November

17,

1979,

May

3,

1980, October 15,

1980,

November

1,

1980, and February

7,

1981 which indicated that Kraemer’s

bar was

emitting excessive

levels

of

noise.

(See:

Exhibits A through G).

At

the

hearing, nine witnesses testified to the effect that:

(1)

the loud, raucous music from Carol’s

Speakeasy has been

extremely disturbing and extensive

in duration

(i.e.,

from about

10:00

P.M, in the evening until 5:00 A.M. in the morning,

seven

days a week,

for the last

4 years);

(2) the use and enjoyment

of nearby property has been severely restricted by the continuous,

repetitive thumping

beat

of loud disco music;

(3) the health of

individuals has been adversely affected (including loss of sleep,

depression, anxiety, insomnia, necessity for tranquilizers, etc.);

(4) the noise problems have rendered neighboring properties almost

unniarketable;

(5) their attempts to have the Respondent eliminate

the noise pollution have been

futile;

and

(6) they feel that the

Respondent has not acted

in “good faith” to rectify matters.

(R. 5—63).

The parties have stipulated that the homeowners who have

been

disturbed

by excessive noise

from the Respondent’s bar have

priority

of

location

(i.e., they have lived in their homes long

before Kraemer began his operations at 1355 N. Wells Street).

(Stip.

3),

Additionally,

it is stipulated that Iraemer

now “has

taken various measures in an attempt to reduce the noise emitted

from his facilities.”

(Stip~. 3).

The proposed settlement agreement provides that the Respondent:

(1) neither admits nor denies the allegations contained in the

Complaint;

(2) agrees to cease and desist from further violations;

(3) agrees to “limit the noise emissions from his establishment

to a maximum level of

5 dB(A) below the maximum levels established

by NoisePollution Rules 203 and 206”;

(4)

agrees to develop and

implement an effective program to control

noise emissions;

and

(5)

agrees to pay a stipulated penalty of $3,000.00 in specified

installments.

(Stip.

3—5).

In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed settlement

agreement, the Board has taken into consideration all the facts

and circumstances in light of the specific criteria delineated in

Section 33(c) of the Act.

The

Board finds the settlement agreement

acceptable under Procedural Rule 331 and Section 33(c)

of the Act.

45—8

---

—3

Accordingly, the Board finds that

the

Respondent,

Fred

A.

Kraemer,

d/bla

Carol’s Speakeasy,

has

violated

Rules

102 and 206

of Chapter

8:

Noise Regulations and

Section 24

of

the Illinois

Environmental Protection Act.

The Respondent

will

be ordered to

cease and desist from further violations,

follow

the requisite

compliance program,

and pay the stipulated penalty

of

$3,000~00

in specified installments.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s

findings

of fact and

It

is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board

that:

1.

The Respondent,

Fred

A.

Kraemer,

d/b/a

Carol~s

Speakeasy,

has violated Rules 102 and 206 of Chapter

8~ Noise

and Section 24 of the Illinois Environmental Protection

2.

The Respondent shall cease and desist from further

violations.

3.

Within 30 days of the date of this

Order, the Respondent

shall, by certified check or money order payable to the State of

Illinois, pay the first installment of $1,000.00 on the stipulated

penalty of $3,000.00

(and subsequently make payments of $500.00

every

30 days thereafter until the entire penalty of $3,000.00 has

been paid in full, with the first $500.00 installment being due

and payable no later than 30 days after the payment of the initial

$1,000.00), which is to be sent to~

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield,

Illinois

62706

4.

The Respondent

shall

comply

with all

the

terms and

conditions of the Stipulation and

Proposal

for Settlement

filed

on December

2,

1981, which is incorporated

by

reference

as

if

fully set forth herein.

5.

The Board retains jurisdiction

of this

matter,

I,

Christan

L.

Moffett, Clerk of the

Illinois

Pollution

Control Board, he eby certify that the above

Opinion and Order was

a~ptedon

the

______

day ~

1982

by a vote of

_______

Christan

Illinois Pollution~Control

Board

45—9