Party hosts may have more to worry about than printing off and posting “Must be 21 to drink” signs before inviting guests. House Bill 1554 took effect Jan. 1, stating that any hosts who knowingly allow underage guests to consume alcohol will face a Class A misdemeanor.
Any person facing the misdemeanor will be fined at least $500. Also, if any underage guest are involved in an incident directly or indirectly resulting in bodily harm or death as a result of alcohol consumption, the host will be charged with a Class 4 felony.
State Rep. Carol Sente, D-59, first sponsored the bill Feb. 15, and Gov. Pat Quinn signed it Aug. 22.
State Rep. Maria Antonia Berrios, D-39, is a chief co-sponsor of the bill and said the bill intends to encourage adult responsibility.
“I do think that a law like this will help the liquor commission to make sure that (adults) are not giving liquor to minors, whether it’s their minors or their friends,” Berrios said. “I’m glad that we were able to pass this kind of legislation.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Capt. Roy Acree of the University police said this law will mostly affect students during holiday weekends, such as Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day.
The previous version of the law subjected party hosts to city ordinance charges resulting from complaints, such as noise.
“Normally, we deal with loud party calls with the city ordinance charges,” Acree said. “During Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, we will make a point in actually arresting people who are hosting parties for the people who are under the age of 21.”
Acree said officers can identify the party host through mail in mailboxes, talking to a neighbor or calling the owners of the apartment.
“If people choose to lie to the police and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t our party,’ there are ways that we would be able to develop and investigate to determine who is the owner or the person living in the apartment,” he said.
Although state legislators have high hopes for the law, some students are not as confident.
Allison Grissom, senior in FAA, said with so many University students, it’s impossible for police officers to keep track of every party with underage guests.
“Honestly, I don’t think that it will make much of a difference. People are going to do what they want to do and what they’ve always done,” Grissom said.
Carina can be reached at [email protected].
