Commisioner to decide penalty

June 11th, 2010 • Related • Filed Under

by Martha Quetsch
ELBURN—Village Liquor Commissioner Dave Anderson said he is not sure if the village will penalize three Elburn businesses that violated the village liquor code by selling alcohol to minors on May 20.

Schmidt’s Towne Tavern, 107 N. Main St., Riley’s Classic Bar & Grill, 117 N. Main St., and Rosati’s, 860 N. Main St., received citations for violating the state liquor code by selling liquor to underage, undercover buyers in a state-agency sting May 20. The illegal sales also violated the village’s liquor code.

Anderson said the village has yet to receive official notification of the citations from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, which conducted the sting. When he does, Anderson will decide whether the village should review the local violations.

“If they are adjucicated by the state, it could be a double jeaopardy situation,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he would not preside over any village hearing related to Schmidt’s offense, since he did not grant that tavern’s liquor license. Trustee Bill Grabarek likely would; Grabarek served as the liquor commissioner granting the Schmidt’s liquor license last year because of Anderson’s conflict of interest as the owner of Schmidt’s building at that time, Anderson said.

The village typically follows progressive discipline in cases of liquor-code violations, starting with a fine for a minor infraction, and more for serious or repeat infractions, Assistant Village Administrator Dave Morrison said. Penalties could range from a liquor-license suspension of one or more days to a license revocation. He said it is up to liquor commissioner to look at all the circumstances, decide how serious the violation was and what, if any, penalty the business will receive.

“The local liquor commissioner has broad discretion in dealing with these matters,” Morrison said.

  • RM

    I don’t know that there is a need to penalize the businesses if the individual offenders are cited. Seems overly harsh especially given the current economy where many are struggling. However, it is important to see if this behavior is a trend. It’s always disappointing when these stings net results.

  • TheSchneid

    I’ve been into all the bars, and have often wondered why anyone in their right mind would want to own a bar. The consequences of an employee selling to an minor could fold a business like this. The investment that Schmidt made into his bar is too much for one person to upset the apple cart.

    There is no way for Schmidt or Rosati’s management to watch over their employees 24/7. You have to allow some trust in that realtionship and expect employees to do their best at their job.

    I don’t think that the bars should pay any penalty for an employee’s mistake. If the employee was derelict in their responsibilities, they should be fired. The employee should be ticketed.