Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Students, bartenders cited in liquor sting

Evanston Police cited two Northwestern students and two bartenders on Thursday in an undercover liquor compliance check of 16 Evanston bars and retail stores.

Weinberg freshman Ayse Muskara and Communication junior Alicia Mumbert were issued compliance tickets for possessing false identifications at Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman Ave. Also at Prairie Moon, bartender Matther Farris Abts, 24, was cited for serving beer to a 19-year-old.

At Bill’s Blues, 1029 Davis St., bartender Marla M. Troth, 30, was cited for serving beer to a 20-year-old.

Both bars had been cited in past covert checks, said Sgt. Robert Mayer of Evanston Police Department.

From 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., six police officers visited bars and supermarkets, according to Mayer, who ran the operation. The officers used two underage NU students, ages 19 and 20, to test the businesses’ compliance.

Plainclothes officers gave the students money to buy alcohol, then followed them into bars and stores. Officers watched as the students attempted to buy alcohol without showing identification, said Deputy Chief Joe Bellino of EPD.

The officers also checked patrons’ IDs, using portable scanners to check authenticity, Mayer said.

Mumbert, 20, said she went to Prairie Moon on Thursday to be with friends. She was sober and leaving the bar when officers asked for her identification, she said.

Age limits at Evanston bars are too strict, Mumbert said.

“It would make everyone’s lives a lot easier to make bars 19-and-over because students could still go out for social reasons,” she said.

Students were not the only ones frustrated with the compliance checks.

“This just seems to be a ferocious waste of time,” said Bill Gilmore, owner of Bill’s Blues.

Gilmore said he has run bars for 30 years, and this has never happened to him at his bars in Chicago or New York.

“We’ve never had the police cite someone they didn’t plant,” he said.

The last major liquor check was Nov. 19, Mayer said. In that check of 20 establishments, police issued 22 compliance tickets. Six of the tickets were given to bartenders serving underage subjects.

Mayer said the police department is trying to improve the general attitude toward liquor-law compliance.

A workshop helping bartenders recognize fake IDs is scheduled for today with an instructor from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. Another was held Feb. 1. Businesses that were cited, and those that were not, were invited to the workshop, Mayer said.

Gilmore, the owner of Bill’s Blues, said he had not heard of the workshop.

The police also notified businesses that passed the check, Mayer said.

“We always want to make them aware of it … so they can let their staff know and reinforce positive behavior,” Mayer said.

The manager at Chili’s Grill & Bar, 1765 Maple Ave., takes reinforcement a step further. Kevin Olson gives $50 to bartenders who successfully pass covert checks.

“We haven’t had problems here at all because (underage) people know they can’t come here and drink,” he said.

Overt and covert compliance checks will continue, Mayer said. Although the undercover tests are not always so large, police conduct the checks at least once a month, he said.

All those issued compliance tickets are scheduled to appear March 1 at the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

Reach Daniella Cheslow at [email protected].

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Students, bartenders cited in liquor sting