Giving a teen alcohol? Think again

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State legislators are trying to raise the stakes for parents who knowingly allow their children and children’s friends to drink alcohol in their homes by stiffening the possible penalties if the underage drinking results in tragedy. Legislation awaiting approval from Gov. Rod Blagojevich raises the offense from a misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, to a Class 4 felony, which is punishable by one to three years in prison, if the minors are involved in a serious or deadly alcohol-related incident. Lawmakers say the pending law change is only the first step toward toughening the state’s liquor laws to hold adults more accountable. “The state of Illinois, high schools and even alcohol manufactures spend huge amounts of money and time on educating our youth about the dangers of alcohol, and we need to ensure that we are carrying this through to the next level and are holding all responsible,” said State Sen. Pam Althoff, a co-sponsor of the law change. If signed by the governor, Senate Bill 158 would create only the second instance in which prosecutors could file felony charges against adults who give minors the opportunity to drink. The only other way adults could face a felony is if the minor to whom they gave alcohol dies specifically of alcohol poisoning – not a tangential incident, such as a fatal crash. The pending law change targets just parents and guardians. So if an of-age friend gives alcohol or a place to drink to minors, he or she still would only face misdemeanor charges, regardless of whether there were a fatal crash. During the next legislative session, Althoff said lawmakers would work to expand who could face felony charges for allowing underage drinking. But expanding the laws could be challenging, Althoff said, since there are constitutional roadblocks to overcome. Nichole Owners, criminal chief of the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office, said generally the courts had found that adults who provided alcohol or allow drinking were not accountable for related serious or deadly crashes because of intervening forces. “The intervening forces are that another person’s criminal conduct is beyond the control of the person who provided the alcohol,” Owens said. McHenry County States’ Attorney Louis Bianchi said the pending change was a step forward. He said his office had been in contact with legislators about the need for change. “There are a lot of victim’s families who have been working with our office to get changes in the legislature,” Bianchi said. Marti Belluschi, a board member of the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, welcomed stiffer laws, but said that was only part of the equation to reduce teen drinking. “Over the past few years, we have had what seems like crash after crash after crash, if you look in the newspapers.” said Belluschi, who served as the first director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving when an Illinois chapter opened in 1987. “I would say that something is not working.” Although stricter laws might help, she said educating the public was equally important. “Parents need to understand that underage alcohol use kills more teens than all illegal drugs combined,” Belluschi said. “Parents seem to be very concerned about illegal drugs, but they tend not to be as alarmed if it is alcohol. “We need to all be united in our messages,” she said. “When parents look the other way and allow parties or say ‘it’s only beer,’ we have a problem.”