Niles Club Fined, Ordered To Close At 2 A.M. After Shots Fired

NILES, IL — The owners of a nightclub in Niles agreed to pay a fine and abide by additional restrictions at a hearing triggered by a shooting last month. Village officials ordered the Music Box Club at 6873 N. Milwaukee Ave. to pay a $3,000 fine and modified its liquor license from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m. at a Niles Liquor Commission hearing Friday. The club was allowed to reopen on probationary status for the next four months, the promoter of the event being held the night of the shooting was banned from hosting any more events there and no private events may be held at the club without prior approval from the mayor, police chief and community development director, the Niles Journal reported.

Shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 22, a North Chicago man fired about six shots toward the club following some kind of altercation inside, according to Niles police. No one was injured by gunfire, and the man ran away south on Milwaukee Avenue.

Willie J. Montgomery-Wise, 20, was arrested by Chicago police within hours of the shooting on an unrelated gun charge. Niles detectives later identified him on surveillance video and linked the gun to the one used in the shooting, police said. Prosecutors charged Montgomery-Wise with aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and criminal damage to property. He remained held at Cook County Jail in lieu of the $15,000 cash portion of his bond ahead of his next court appearance in Skokie on Oct. 22, according to the sheriff's office.

According to the Niles Journal, Music Box ownership pleaded no contest to allegations it violated the terms of its liquor license and the club's manager was also cited with a violation of the local disorderly conduct ordinance. The first of the club's scheduled four private parties is set for Oct. 19, and Music Box management must file a security plan before then. As part of the new restrictions, the club's outdoor deck will close at midnight.

Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo, who assumed the role of liquor commissioner last year after his conflict of interest was eliminated with his family's sale of White Eagle Banquets, had the authority to suspend or revoke a liquor license if it presents a threat to public safety. According to Village Attorney Danielle Grcic, village code allows for fines of up to $1,500 per violation of the code, the Journal reported.

Owner Andy Bobrowski told Pioneer Press the shooting there was no disturbance in the club that led to the shooting, contrary to reports from police. He said the club, which opened in November 2018, would no longer associate with the group that hosted the Sept. 22 event.

When the village board approved the establishment's special use permit in August 2016, an attorney for the club told village officials it would cater to clientele in their 50s and 60s. The Music Box's location was formerly the site of Capone's Hideout and the Village Cafe and Pub, which had generated complaints of rowdiness from the owners of a neighboring motel.

Earlier: The Music Box Will Replace Capone's Hideout in Niles