Throwing a Holiday Party in Evanston?

Terrific! If you intend to dispense any "holiday cheer," however, the City of Evanston would just like to remind you about a few regulations to keep in mind:

The City of Evanston would like to remind residents that a One-day Liquor License is required to serve alcohol at special events, holiday parties, office parties and other events. Additionally, the city requires alcohol awareness training. A One-Day Liquor License is a temporary license issued for the service of alcohol or beer and wine at special events. Only individuals, businesses or organizations residing in Evanston may obtain a One-Day Liquor License.

The requirement is for all events involving the sale, service and consumption of beer and wine in the City of Evanston and failure to do so may result in a penalty ranging from $500 to $1,000.

The basic regulations regarding Special One-Day Liquor Licenses for special events are as follows:

• Class F:  Authorizes the sale or service of beer and wine on non-city-owned property. Cost is $150.00.
• Class F1: Authorizes the sale or service of alcoholic liquor, beer and wine on non-city-owned property. Cost is $150.00.
• Class X:  Authorizes the sale or service of beer and wine at certain city-owned facilities (Chandler-Newberger Center, Robert Crown Community Center/Ice Rink, Ecology Center, Evanston Arts Center, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Levy Senior Center,  Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center and the Evanston Public Library. Cost is $75 (residents) and $265.00 (non-residents).
• Class X1: Authorizes the sale or service of alcoholic liquor, beer and wine at certain city-owned facilities (Chandler-Newberger Center, Robert Crown Community Center/Ice Rink, Ecology Center, Evanston Arts Center, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Levy Senior Center, Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center and the Evanston Public Library. Cost is $115 (residents) and $340.00 (non-residents).
• No more than twelve (12) Special One-Day (Class F) Liquor Licenses shall be issued to any sales address or applicant in any one calendar year.
• The sale of beer and wine shall only take place from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday, provided also that food is made available during those hours.
• The Special One-Day (Class F) Liquor License shall be issued to and valid only for the “sales premises” described on the application.
• The organization applying must obtain liquor liability insurance for the period of time during which beer and wine will be sold. Specific requirements vary depending on type of license.
• A member of the responsible organization must have completed the State of Illinois Liquor Control Commission’s Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training (BASSET) program and be present at the event.

The above is not an exhaustive list of the requirements. For a full description of the license requirements, see the City of Evanston Municipal Code, Title 3, Chapter 4.

 I can't wait for the holidays (sensibly regulated)!

Automatic amusement machines

It may interest you to know that automatic amusement machines—including "any device which utilizes a video tube to reproduce symbolic figures and lines intended to be representative of real games or activities"—are heavily regulated in Waukegan, Illinois. Don't even try to make "secondary use" of more than three of them, unless you operate a "recreational facility, hotel, or motel."

Manual amusement machines reamin unregulated.

Evanston City Code, Part 2

A while back I blogged about some of the more "interesting" ordinances in my new home town, Evanston, Illinois.  I thought of this again today when I was at the grocery store buying two six-packs of beer.  One of the nice things about where we live is that we are just a five-minute walk to two grocery stores, both of which sell beer and wine.  So help is never far away.  But both stores require that we put six-packs and wine into grocery bags, based on their stated belief that it is illegal in Evanston to walk around the city with six packs of beer, etc.  When I was researching the code last month, I took a brief look at the alcohol ordinance and saw nothing to prevent this.  Today, after again being forced to transport my six packs in grocery backs, I decided to settle this once and for all.

Here is the text of the relevant ordinance: 

Evanston City Code

Having recently moved to Evanston, Illinois, I thought it would be wise to take a look at the city code. After all, ignorantia juris non excusat. Here are a couple of notable ordinances.

9-5-20-3 DUTY TO AID POLICE

It shall be the duty of all persons in the city, when called upon by the chief of police or any member of the police department, to promptly aid and assist him in the execution of his police duties. Any person who shall neglect or refuse to give such aid and assistance shall be punished as provided in section 1-4-1 of this code.

Hmm. I haven't looked at section 1-4-1 to see what the punishment is, but I'm guessing it is spankings, and that they are personally administered by the Chief. Just part of the job.