After carnival shutdown, Lake in the Hills changes permit rules

All carnivals in Lake in the Hills now will have to go through the same approval channels, regardless of whether they are held on private property or public property.

Carnivals such as the Summer Sunset Festival and Rockin’ Rotary Rib Fest held in Lake in the Hills parks have had a more stringent approval process than smaller events such as the parking lot carnival that was shut down by police in April because of disruptive youths.

Village documents indicated that the approval process for the public property carnivals had been working well.

Village President Ray Bogdanowski said Tuesday that the changes were putting everyone on “the same playing field.”

Going forward, carnivals and circuses, regardless of where in town they’re held or how many people are going, in addition to events such as speeches and rallies with more than 100 attendees will have the same approval process. For-profit events at private homes where more than 100 people are in attendance also will have to go through those approval channels.

Bogdanowski said earlier this week that the changes weren’t directly related to the canceled spring carnival or other events, noting that the changes were ones that had been in the works for some time.

The Village Board didn’t discuss the issue ahead of its Thursday vote.

The more detailed permitting process requires event operators to have insurance coverage, protocols for serving alcohol, and emergency or incident action plans. The permit for the carnival that was canceled in April did not include a security plan, and police were not on-site until they were called there because of fighting among young people.