Elgin cracking down on public drinking

Elgin's downtown Festival Park has been a great draw and gathering place for community events.

It also has served as a magnet for some public drunks, bums and loitering.

To make sure the latter doesn't hurt the former, Elgin city leaders are considering expanding panhandling laws and banning sales of certain types of alcohol, such as malt liquor.

"Even if it doesn't work out as well as we would like, I don't see a downside to this," said Mayor Ed Schock.

Carryout sales of single bottles and large cans of beer or malt liquor already are banned in the city.

The new law would ban "low cost/high alcohol content beer and wine products" in the downtown area and several blocks around it.

Supporters hope the measure will deter drinkers from buying bagged alcohol, pestering others and eventually littering downtown and in Festival Park.

The law would ban 23 labels of beer and malt liquor, along with six wine products.

Councilman David Kaptain said he supports plan, but pointed to the experiences of Seattle, where a similar law was put into effect, as cause for concern.

Within 18 months, liquor companies came up with a whole new batch of products, rendering the law there virtually meaningless, he said.

"I don't want to put an ordinance into effect that's going to have to be constantly monitored," he said.

Bill Cogley, the city's corporation counsel, said Elgin is a smaller market than Seattle, so it is unlikely companies would repackage products just to be sold here.

If necessary, he added, the city can add products to the banned list.

The law also would make it illegal to panhandle essentially anywhere in the downtown area.

The city also tightened up its laws for loitering, imposing a $100 fine to sit or lay on a sidewalk unless someone has a medical condition, is part of a protest of 10 people or more or watching a parade.

Deputy Chief Jeff Swoboda said officers will use discretion and judgment when enforcing the law. A person sitting on the sidewalk after jogging, for example, would not be cited.

"It's when people are intoxicated and don't move along and continue to lay on the ground, that's a problem," he said.

City leaders are expected to sign off on the new measures March 18.