Attention, students: Naperville won't extend 'Black Wednesday' bar hours

College students returning home to Naperville for Thanksgiving break will have to limit their partying to 1 a.m. on the holiday.

The city council on Tuesday rejected a proposal that would have extended bar hours on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving commonly known as "Black Wednesday," citing safety concerns.

"God forbid somebody does get hurt, I don't want that phone call from a parent or a loved one of somebody that gets hurt or killed that night saying, 'you know what without that extra hour I might still have my son or daughter,'" Councilman Paul Hinterlong said.

Restaurants and bars must stop serving alcohol at 1 a.m. Monday through Friday and 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Restaurant Association of Naperville had requested a one-hour extension on Black Wednesday saying it is the busiest day of the year.

"This is one of the few nights everybody comes into town and you get to see everybody," Councilman Grant Wehrli said.

Police said they would use existing personnel that night and not incur overtime costs.

Councilman Doug Krause proposed extending the hours for a year to at least try it. However, councilmen voted 5-3 against the measure.

"I think this is going to encourage binge drinking because ... anybody who is drinking between one and two in the morning is already pretty lit," Councilman Robert Fieseler said.

Fieseler, Hinterlong, Judy Brodhead, Richard Furstenau and Jim Boyajian voted against extending the drinking hours while Wehrli, Doug Krause and Kenn Miller voted in favor. Mayor George Pradel was absent.