Owner of Antioch teen club commits suicide

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Updated: March 17, 2012 10:19AM

The owner of Club Energy, who reportedly had invested $1 million in the teen club at 1350 Main St., committed suicide and was buried in Park Ridge on Monday.

John Tsichlis, 45, had been reported missing by his family since mid-December, shortly after attending an Antioch Village Board meeting requesting a liquor license for Club Energy.

According to the Morton Grove Champion, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office recently identified a badly decomposed body found Feb. 2 in a wooded area in Park Ridge as Tsichlis.

An autopsy conducted Feb. 4 determined Tsichlis died of a gunshot wound to the head and his death was ruled a suicide, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Club Energy, which opened last summer as a teen club and family entertainment center, was denied a liquor license by the village board Dec. 5.

Frank Knaack of Lindenhurst had been hired by Tsichlis to lobby for a liquor license for the club so the business could also host adult events.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out and I had been looking at other alternatives to help the business, but then this happened,” said Knaack, who confirmed the club is closed and now up for sale.

Mayor Lawrence Hanson said the death of Tsichlis is a tragedy.

“I did not know him personally other than the fact that he was an owner of the business and attended the December board meeting. It’s a tragic loss for his family,” the mayor said. “My impression was that he was really a nice guy and a gentleman.”

The closing of the club means the loss of about three dozen local jobs, said Knaack.

“The club is now closed and up for sale. It is an upsetting situation for everyone involved,” he said Wednesday.

Tsichlis was a commercial real estate developer and is survived by his widow and three children.