Social hosting ordinance gaining ground in Lake County
The Village of Lindenhust is the latest town in Lake County to adopt a new law that makes it easier for adults to be held responsible for the actions of underage drinkers.
Lindenhurst joins at least 13 other towns, from Lakemoor to Lake Bluff, that have passed the law, called the "social hosting" ordinance. About five others, including Grayslake, Kildeer and Hawthorn Woods, are considering passage.
"This closes some loopholes that were in our previous ordinance," village Trustee Dominic Marturano said. "Parents can't ignore the situation without consequences."
Promoted by the Lake County Underage Drinking Task Force, the law is intended to hold any adult, not just parents, accountable for hosting an event where kids are drinking or doing drugs. It also broadens the kinds of places where the law can be enforced.
Current ordinances typically cover residences, but not places such as hotels, boats, buses or banquet halls. The new law covers those locations and others.
The village of Round Lake Beach was the first in the county to adopt the ordinance last February. It didn't take more than a couple of weeks before police enforced it.
A 17-year-old girl was arrested and charged with hosting a drinking party while her parents were out of town.
"She had the party in direct defiance of her parents' rules," said Round Lake Beach Trustee Judy Armstrong. "And because she was 17, the law considered her as an adult and held her responsible."
The catalyst for the stricter law was a 2006 crash that killed two 18-year-olds who had just left a drinking party in Deerfield. The parents who hosted the party were found guilty of endangering the life of a child.
The task force that crafted the ordinance is made up of police chiefs, representatives from the Lake County Health Department, high school students and others.
It is headed by Mundelein Police Chief Ray Rose, Liz Nelson of the health department and Bruce Johnson of the social service agency NICASA.
The task force also sponsors alcohol compliance checks at liquor stores and restaurants. It holds an annual conference as well.
Rose and other task force leaders are in Texas this week, speaking to a group of nearly 2,000 people at a U.S. Department of Justice conference about their efforts to curb underage drinking in Lake County.
Rose said he's pleased that more than a dozen communities have adopted the rule.
"We think it's going very well," he said. "We really want to see the entire county adopt the ordinance.