Beecher Board Paves Way for New Daycare Facility on Dixie Highway

Article Summary: The Beecher Village Board has directed its attorney to draft an ordinance granting a special use permit that would allow an existing children’s play facility to expand its services to include a full daycare. The move, which follows a unanimous recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission, aims to address a recognized shortage of affordable childcare in the community.

Beecher Daycare Permit Key Points:

• The Village Board approved a motion to create a special use permit for a daycare at 993 Dixie Highway.

• The location currently operates as an indoor children’s play facility and private party room.

• The Beecher Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended the approval, citing a high demand for daycare services in the village.

• The facility must still obtain final licensing from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

BEECHER, IL – A new daycare facility is one step closer to opening in Beecher after the Village Board on Monday directed its attorney to draft a special use permit for the business at 993 Dixie Highway.

The facility, which opened in April 2025 as an indoor children’s play and party room, will be able to expand its services to include daycare and before-and-after school care once the ordinance is formally approved.

Trustee Roger Stacey made the motion, noting that since the play facility opened, “many parents have expressed interest in the daycare and before/after school care services.”

The action follows a unanimous recommendation from the Beecher Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC), which held a public hearing on the matter on August 28. According to the PZC’s findings, the new use is in the public interest because “there is currently a lack of affordable daycare facilities within the Village of Beecher.”

While the location is in the same shopping center as a tobacco store and a gun store, the PZC determined the proposed daycare would not interfere with existing uses and that the current play facility has not experienced any adverse impacts.

Before it can operate as a daycare, the business must obtain licensing from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), which enforces stringent safety, staffing, and facility requirements. Board members noted that DCFS regulations would govern everything from building exits to light fixtures. The village’s approval of the special use permit is a necessary first step in that state-level licensing process.