Journal Reporter

For the next year, Holiday Inn, 1000 Busse Rd., must adhere to a mandatory carding policy when a customer orders an alcoholic beverage due to a liquor infraction at the establishment July 1. Elk Grove Mayor Craig Johnson, also the village's liquor commissioner, believes this will provide a good opportunity for Elk Grove to examine the mandatory carding policy more closely.

"This will be a good test to see how the policy works in restaurants," said Johnson.

Three and a half years ago, Elk Grove Village became the first municipality in Illinois and only the second in the nation to implement mandatory identification (I.D.) checks at liquor package stores.

The punishment levied upon Holiday July 1 ranks as the stiffest penalty Elk Grove has ever handed-down to an establishment for a liquor violation. The Holiday Inn must pay $2,500 and follow a mandatory carding policy for one year. It was also forced to cease liquor sales for six days.

The recent infraction at Holiday Inn did not involve package sales or occur in the hotel's restaurant, Honest John's, which had been cited for two liquor violations in the last two years involving direct alcohol sale to minors, Johnson said.

Instead, the July 1 incident occurred in the banquet room. A minor was allegedly found with alcohol by off-duty Elk Grove police officers working security at the hotel, Mayor Johnson reported. He would not say specifically if police officers perform identification checks in hotel banquet halls. The mayor stressed, however, "We're very vigilante at observing what goes on at restaurants and liquor stores."

Because the July 1 violation didn't involve direct sales to minors, the village spared Holiday Inn the "death penalty."

Elk Grove Village utilizes the "three strikes" rule with liquor violations, meaning on the third infraction a business forever loses its ability to sell alcohol, which Johnson termed the "death ability."

One message left at Holiday Inn was not returned, while two messages placed at Honest John's were also not returned. According to a front desk employee at the hotel, Honest John's handles liquor sales in the hotel's banquet rooms.

Minors and alcohol are often mixed at banquets, including wedding receptions where an underage person's family may keep a watchful eye.

"It's against the law," Mayor Johnson said responding to the observation. "We can't control what happens in people's homes, but we can enforce the law in banquet halls."

"What's stopping these kids from getting in a car?" He questioned.

Later in the conversation Johnson remarked, "We don't mess around when it comes to minors and alcohol. Kids do stupid things and we're proactive with minors and drinking. It's the ignorance of youth."

Only recently has Elk Grove become known as the town that's vigilante towards liquor enforcement. In past years, the village was known for its lax alcohol policy, according to Johnson.

"During liquor hearings [an underage] kid from west Schaumburg said that he drove to Elk Grove to purchase alcohol because everyone knew this was the place to come and not get carded," Johnson explained.

The minor's testimony, the mayor noted, was the "nail in the coffin." Soon after the hearing, the village implemented mandatory carding.

"This is the town where everyone gets carded," the mayor stressed.

While many liquor store owners feared the worst, Johnson believes the policy has had little if no effect at all on business. He reported that since the new rule two liquor stores have opened in Elk Grove and business has apparently improved at the stores. Johnson did not cite the mandatory carding policy as the reason for increased business.

No liquor stores have closed in the village since the policy became law, Johnson said, although some have changed ownership.

"We were once seeing 30% to 40% failure rates for carding. It was abysmal," the mayor explained. "People were saying 'they looked old enough to me.' We're talking about 18 year old kids."

For the fifth consecutive time, Elk Grove reported success during an unannounced carding check at a liquor store. A roughly 60 year old undercover police officer attempted to buy alcohol at a store and was asked for identification. "We've closed one loophole when it comes to kids getting alcohol," Johnson proudly remarked.