St. Charles wants to give new state rules on happy hour a shot
The St. Charles Liquor Control Commission has decided it is fine with continuing to let state law regulate happy-hour practices.
The city could have implemented stricter laws than the state's, because it has home-rule authority.
In 1989, Illinois banned happy hours - the practice of discounting drink prices during short periods of time. The old law also banned offering reduced-price drinks to certain customers and not others - such as "ladies nights" during which women got the discount.
Legislators earlier this year brought back happy hour, to a degree. State law now allows happy hours of up to four hours per day, for a total of 15 hours per week, before 10 p.m. Two-for-the-price of one specials, or mega-sized drinks, are still prohibited.
Commission member and city Alderman Maureen Lewis said she was "comfortable" with the state statute.
"Let's give it a shot and see what happens," fellow commissioner Chuck Amenta said,
St. Charles will continue, however to prohibit sales of more than one drink at a time for consumption by one person.
The new state law also requires that all servers pass a Beverage Alcohol Sellers/Servers Education and Training course. The training reviews how to check identification to determine if a person is old enough to consume alcohol and how to determine if a person is intoxicated, among other things.
St. Charles already requires such certification for servers, sellers and people responsible for checking identification. Nonprofit organizations running special events are required to have only one certified BASSET-trained person, who will then train the other volunteers.