In effort to prevent late-night problems, Rosemont adds fighting prohibition to local code
Rosemont officials approved one more local regulation Monday to clamp down on unruly late-night behavior in the village's popular entertainment district.
Under the measure passed by the village board, police can now issue village citations for fighting - without necessarily having to determine who was the aggressor.
"I don't think we're overrun with it, but it gives us another tool in the entertainment district," Mayor Brad Stephens said. "Booze does crazy things to people."
The amendment to village code comes a month after trustees approved liquor code changes that will shift bar closing times from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m. starting next year. Village officials said the time change was born out of a desire not to be an attraction for late-night revelers looking for a nightcap. The move also was prompted by responses to a survey of the 15 existing 4 a.m. liquor license holders; only two still want to stay open that late.
The fighting ordinance approved Monday will allow village public safety department officers to ticket any participant in a scuffle. Anyone cited could decide to pay the fine - ranging from $200 to $750 - or decide to contest it as part of the administrative adjudication process at village hall.
Depending on the severity of a case, if a victim signs a complaint, the case could still rise to the level of a misdemeanor or felony in circuit court, officials said.
But the new village rules "give us more of an ability to charge them locally," Stephens said.