No person, firm or corporation shall conduct or operate the business of a pawnbroker without first having obtained a license therefor as is hereinafter provided. For purposes of this article, "pawnbroker" means every person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of receiving property in pledge or as security for money or other thing advanced to the pawner or pledger. The number of pawnbroker's licenses shall be limited to one per 6,000 residents as determined by the most recent federal census.
An application of a pawnbroker's license shall conform to the general requirements of Article 1 of this chapter. The Chief of Police shall investigate the applicant to determine whether or not such applicant is a person of good character. No license shall be issued to a person who has been convicted of receiving stolen property, burglary or robbery.
The annual license fee shall be based on the square footage of the licensed premises as provided for in § 11.16 of this chapter.
Each pawnbroker shall keep a record of every article pledged or sold to it, with this record being open to the inspection by any police officer at any time during the hours of business. The records shall be maintained in a book, in ink, and describe the article or thing pawned or pledged, the amount of money loaned thereon, the date and time of the pledge, the rate of interest on the loan, and the name and address of any person pawning or pledging the article or thing pledged. For articles sold to the pawnbroker, the book shall include the date and time of purchase, the amount paid for said article, and the name and address of the person selling such article to the pawnbroker.
It shall be the duty of every pawnbroker to make daily reports to the Chief of Police of the City of Hometown as provided for in Section 7 of the Pawnbroker Regulation Act (205 ILCS 510/0.01 et seq.). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Chief of Police, or any member of the Police Department acting at his direction, shall be allowed to inspect the records required to be maintained under § 11.493 of this article. Similarly, any member of the Police Department shall be allowed to inspect every article or thing pledged or pawned, and any article purchased by the pawnbroker, during the hours of operation for the business.
No pawnbroker shall receive in pawn, pledge or purchase any revolver, pistol, blackjack, sawed-off shotgun, knife or any other firearm or weapon and no pawnbroker shall display or offer any such article for sale. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a pawnbroker may receive in pawn, pledge or purchase, and offer for sale, a bona fide antique firearm or weapon.
The business of a pawnbroker as provided for in this article shall be limited to 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
It shall be unlawful for any pawnbroker to receive any pawn or pledge or make any loan to a person under 18 years of age. It shall similarly be unlawful to receive any pawn or pledge or make any loan to a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It shall also be unlawful to receive any pawn, pledge or article for resale any known stolen property or from any person known to be a thief or convicted of burglary or any similar criminal charge. Finally, no pawnbroker shall employ any person under the age of 18 to take pledges in pawn or sell any articles for the pawnbroker.
No article purchased by a pawnbroker shall be sold or removed from the place of business for a period of 30 days after the report to the Chief of Police as required by § 11.494. The sale and retention of pawned or pledged articles shall otherwise be governed by the provisions of Section 10 of the Pawnbroker Regulation Act (205 ILCS 510/0.01 et seq.).
The provisions of the Pawnbroker Regulation Act (205 ILCS 510/0.01 et seq.) shall apply to all pawnbrokers doing business pursuant to this article and are incorporated herein by reference. Should there be a conflict between the provisions of this article and the Pawnbroker Regulation Act, the provisions of this article shall apply.