“Village mulling new rules for pawn shops” |
| Village mulling new rules for pawn shops Posted: 12 Aug 2010 02:58 AM PDT August 12, 2010 Mundelein officials are considering new regulations for second-hand shops such as stores that buy and sell gold and jewelry as well as pawn shops in the village. Village Administrator John Lobaito told the Village Board last month that staff is working on drafting a second-hands goods ordinance, which will likely be presented to board sometime in September. Lobaito said the focus is really directed at stores that buy and sell gold, precious metals or jewelry. It would also apply to pawn shops that sell used goods. Lobaito said the ordinance is being proposed because "there are some instances of stolen items being sold at these gold pawn shops, unbeknownst to the dealer," he said. Under the proposed village regulations, Lobaito said pawn shops and second-hand gold shops would be required to register with the village and pay a licensing fee. They would also be required to make copies of seller's identification, such as a drivers license or other valid ID, to make sure the items are being sold by the rightful owners. The shop owners would all be required to keep records and a description of any items purchased and sold. Lobaito said state law already requires pawn shops to keep records of items that are purchased and sold and obtain identification of the sellers of goods so the ordinance should not be a major issue for pawn shop owners. However, he said second-hand gold dealers are not required to meet the same regulations. Closing a loophole "The gap in the state law is that gold dealers are not required to do that," he said. "We want to close that loophole." Lobaito emphasized the ordinance would not apply to jewelry stores that sell only new items. Pete Balistreri, owner of National Gold Experts on Route 45 in Mundelein, said he had not heard of the ordinance but he does not believe it would be a major issue for his store. Balistreri said his store already requires any seller of items to show a drivers license or other form of official ID, and the store takes down the name and signature of the seller and a description of the items purchased. "If they do pass this ordinance, I think we'd pretty much in compliance already," he said. Balistreri said his store buys gold, silver and other precious metals and resells those items to a refinery. He said most of the people he sees are selling broken gold chains or jewelry they no longer want, and other people are selling gold items because they are struggling with the difficult economy and need cash. "Being that gold is at an all-time high they're getting a lot of money right now," he said. Lobaito said the second-hands good ordinance would not apply to resale stores that accept items as donations, such as Goodwill. He also does not believe it would impact other second-hand clothing shops, but all of the details of the ordinance have not yet been finalized. Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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