Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series detailing effects of House Bill 5941, a new law enacted Jan. 1 to revoke minors’ drivers licenses if found with alcohol.

The director of the Illinois Liquor Commission’s Under 21 programs said bar owners are relieved by the enactment of House Bill 5941, but local establishments do not necessarily agree.

House Bill 5941, which went into effect Jan. 1, revokes the licenses of persons under 21 caught in the presence of alcohol.

The law does not directly affect Project 21, a state program directed at education and cracking down on underage drinking, but Marie O’Brien, director of the liquor commission’s under 21 program, said bar owners are relieved there is now something they can do when minors try to obtain alcohol.

“This is the first time establishments have something they can do (about it),” O’Brien said Wednesday. “People who own bars are thrilled with this new law.”

Local establishments are not necessarily affected by this, however, since city ordinances state minors are not allowed to be in a bar. However, the general feeling is the law is unfair.

“I hate to see anyone penalized like that,” said Kevin McGugan, owner of The Uptowner Bar and Grill, which is located on the Square. “I can agree with it or disagree. There’s nothing I can do about what the state legislation is.”

O’Brien said before the new law, if a minor tried to obtain alcohol, bartenders could only tell him or her no, but now they can sign a complaint, leading to a conviction.

Under the law, if a minor tries to make a purchase, the bartender can deny the sale, make note of the individual and call the police who will then find that individual and suspend his or her license, O’Brien said.

Locally, people have issues with the penalties.

“I don’t think its fair,” said Dave Heidemann, a manager at Stix, located in the 1400 block of Fourth Street. “I think the most they should get is probably a fine.”

Greg Neighbors, a manager at Gateway Liquors, at 413 Lincoln Ave., said the law is fair and will scare minors, but “it’s pretty much impossible to curb underage drinking.”

O’Brien said the new law does not limit bar raids which have always been a part of Project 21. How those raids are carried out depends on the agency since state and local police have different penalties and procedures.

The Illinois Liquor Commission works with the Illinois State Police to administer the program. The commission works to educate bar owners, managers and employees and to focus on arresting people selling to minors, O’Brien said.

The state police perform periodic compliance checks, to see if bars are serving minors, O’Brien said. From 1998 to 2001, Coles County had a 57 percent failure rate for these checks, meaning over half of the establishments were serving minors.

That rate has improved to 38 percent in the last year, since Project 21 was introduced, O’Brien said.