(A) Delivery Of Alcoholic Liquor To An Underage Person: It shall be unlawful for any person, regardless of relationship, age or circumstances, to deliver any alcoholic liquor to any underage person, except as set forth in this chapter.
(B) Use Of Premises For Consumption Of An Alcoholic Liquor: It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly permit or to knowingly or negligently fail to prevent, on any premises under his or her control, the consumption of an alcoholic liquor by an underage person. This chapter shall apply to residential, public and commercial premises.
(C) Exceptions: Subsections (A) and (B) of this section shall not apply in the following circumstances:
1. The performance of a bona fide religious service.
2. The delivery of an alcoholic liquor within the home to an underage person, by and under the direct supervision of that underage person's parent; provided, however, the following rules shall be applied:
(a) In any prosecution of an underage person for the commission of any state or local offense, the prosecutor, upon reasonable grounds, may request a ruling and the court shall rule as to whether the consumption of an alcoholic beverage, as permitted by the parent, was a contributing factor to the commission of the offense. If it is so determined in the affirmative, then the penalty set forth in subsection (D) of this section shall apply. For purposes of this section, the consumption of alcohol may be determined to be a contributing factor if it had the effect of substantially causing an impairment to the person as "impairment" is defined in this chapter. It need not be shown that, but for the consumption of alcohol, the offense would not have been committed.
(b) The parent shall remain vicariously liable as set forth in subsection (E) of this section.
(D) Penalty: Any person holding a liquor license issued by the commissioner who is found guilty by the commissioner of violating subsection (A) or (B) of this section shall be fined in the mandatory amount of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). Any person found guilty by a court of law shall be fined in the mandatory amount of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00). Prosecution before the commissioner in an administrative proceeding shall not bar prosecution in a court of law for the same acts.
(E) Vicarious Liability Of A Parent Or Other Person Facilitating The Use Or Abuse Of Alcoholic Liquor: The following persons shall be liable to any individual who has been injured by an alcohol impaired underage person when the impairment is a contributing cause of the injury:
1. Any person who delivered or permitted the delivery of an alcoholic liquor to the underage person. The person making or permitting the initial delivery to an underage person remains liable to anyone injured by the same or different underage person regardless of how many times the alcoholic liquor changed hands.
2. Any person in control of a premises, who knowingly or negligently fails to maintain supervision to such an extent that an alcoholic liquor is consumed on the premises by an underage person.
3. Any person who knowingly or negligently allows the operation of a motor vehicle under his or her control by an underage person, when the person knew or in the exercise of ordinary judgment should have known that the underage person was either impaired or had consumed any amount of alcohol within two (2) hours prior to when this allowance to drive occurred. The vicarious liability established by this chapter shall not be subject to the limitations on damages as set forth in 235 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/6-21.
(F) Use Of False Identification: Any underage person found guilty by a court of law of attempting to obtain delivery of an alcoholic liquor by use of false proof of age shall be subject to a mandatory fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the first offense and seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) for each subsequent offense. If the false proof of age was an improperly used driver's license, the person so using it shall not be permitted, for a period of six (6) months, to operate a motor vehicle on any public way within the corporate limits of the city unless accompanied by a licensed driver over thirty (30) years of age, subject to the provisions of subsection (J) of this section.
(G) False Identification Not A Defense: It shall not be a defense to any action brought criminally, civilly or administratively against any liquor licensee or any other person charged with the delivery of any alcoholic liquor to an underage person that such a person produced false identification or false proof of age. The person or persons hearing and deciding the charges may consider such a claim when determining the penalty to be assessed or the apportionment of damages.
(H) Operation Of A Motor Vehicle While In A State Of Impairment: It shall be unlawful for any underage person to operate a motor vehicle on a street or highway of the city while in a state of impairment due to the consumption of an alcoholic liquor or with any alcohol at all in his or her system. For purposes of this chapter only, "operation of a motor vehicle" shall have the definition ascribed to it in the Illinois vehicle code rather than the definition set forth in section 3-2-1 of this chapter.
(I) Operation Of A Motor Vehicle By Underage Persons With Alcoholic Liquor In Or On The Vehicle: When an underage person operating a motor vehicle is impaired due to alcohol or has alcohol in the system or is operating a vehicle in violation of a restriction pursuant to this chapter, the following shall apply:
1. The motor vehicle shall be subject to immediate impoundment by the police department.
2. The following factors shall not be considerations in determining whether or not to impound the motor vehicle:
(a) Whether the alcoholic liquor is in an opened or an unopened container.
(b) Whether the operator is the owner of the alcoholic liquor in the vehicle.
(c) Whether the owner or operator had knowledge of the existence of the alcoholic liquor within the motor vehicle.
3. Upon impoundment, the motor vehicle may be released only to another person showing proof of ownership or lease rights to the motor vehicle. If the underage operator is the owner or lessor of the vehicle, then the vehicle may be released only to a parent or spouse of the underage owner. If the underage person has no parent or spouse living in the immediate area, the vehicle may be released, upon satisfactory proof of such fact, as set forth in subsection (I)4 of this section.
4. The motor vehicle may not be released to any person who was a passenger in the motor vehicle at the time the alcoholic liquor or impairment was found unless at least twenty four (24) hours have passed from the time of the finding.
5. The vehicle shall not be released until the person seeking the release has paid an administrative fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) to the city, plus any towing or storage costs.
6. If the operator is subsequently found guilty of driving with open alcohol in a motor vehicle or possession of alcohol by a minor or of operating a motor vehicle while impaired pursuant to subsection (H) of this section, that person shall not be permitted for a period of six (6) months, to operate a motor vehicle on any public way within the limits of the city unless accompanied by a licensed driver over thirty (30) years of age.
7. The above obligations and penalties shall be in addition to the penalties that may be assessed in a court of law for any charges arising out of the incident.
8. Any law enforcement officer, the police department and the city and any of its officers or agents shall be absolutely immune from any liability or exposure to liability of any kind or nature for the enforcement or implementation of this chapter.
(J) Procedure For Driving Restriction Notification; Hearing:
1. If a person has committed a violation that subjects the person to a restriction on driving in Momence, such a restriction shall not take place until the police department has sent, by regular mail, a notice of the pending driving restriction. The notice shall be mailed at least two (2) weeks before the restriction is to go into effect and shall contain: a) a statement that the restriction applies only to the city; b) the date the restriction is to go into effect and the date on which it ends; c) a map showing the city limits; d) a notice that the operator has the right to request a hearing within ten (10) days of notification to determine the validity of the restriction. The validity of the restriction may be challenged only on the grounds that the person was not the actual person found guilty or that there was no finding of guilty for the underlying offense.
2. The hearing shall be conducted by a supervisory member of the city police department, appointed by the chief of police and whose determination shall be a final administrative decision.
(K) Penalty For Violating Driving Restriction:
1. Restriction: No person shall operate and no person, including a parent, shall permit another to operate a motor vehicle within the corporate limits of the city in violation of the restrictions set forth in this chapter.
2. Penalty: Any person found guilty by a court of law of violating this subsection (K) shall be fined in the mandatory amount of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00).
(L) Zero Tolerance With Respect To Alcohol Use: It shall be unlawful for any underage person to have any alcohol of any level detectable by observation or blood/alcohol testing in the person's system. If the blood/alcohol level is less than .05 milliliters of alcohol per liter of blood, then it shall be a defense that the alcohol was acquired pursuant to the exceptions set forth in subsection (C) of this section. Such defense may be established by clear and convincing evidence by the testimony of the adult providing the alcoholic liquor.
(M) Possession Of Alcohol By Underage Persons: It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty one (21) to possess, dispense, or consume alcoholic liquor. Any person to whom the sale, gift or delivery of any alcoholic liquor is prohibited because of age shall not purchase, accept a gift of such alcoholic liquor or have such alcoholic liquor in his possession. (Ord. 800, 10-5-2015)