Naperville Takes Aim at Liquor Laws, Passes New Regulations

City officials passed two regulations Tuesday meant to address over-consumption of alcohol in Naperville

The city council voted 7-2 in favor of amending its liquor law ordinance to prohibit reducing the price of a drink by more than 50 percent of its scheduled price and also will now require BASSET training for security staff at bars.

DIscussion surrounding Naperville’s liquor laws took shape in recent months as councilors looked at ways to address DUIs, bar fights and other alcohol-related criminal incidents.

A fatal crash into a Naperville quarry in July, which left two dead, has further fueled the discussion over changing the liquor laws. The driver of the vehicle, a 21-year-old Geneva man, is accused of getting behind the wheel after spending several hours drinking heavily downtown, according to the Naperville Sun.

The Naperville City Council on Tuesday tabled discussion on other measures to address its liquor laws until its next meeting. Those measures include permitting entry or re-entry into a drinking establishment one hour prior to bar close, permitting the service of shots one hour before bar close and limiting the serving size of beer from 24 to 20 ounces.

Councilors addressed concerns over police being able to effectively enforce such regulations.

“At the end of the day, this is about enforcement. If our liquor commissioner and our police department does not have the tools they need to nip this in the bud, so to speak, we are not doing our jobs,” said Councilor Grant Wehrli.