Nineteen patrons and the Mark II Lounge received citations for alcohol violations early Friday morning, Chicago police said Monday.
The patrons received tickets for being minors in a tavern. The Deuce, 7436 N. Western Ave., was cited for having minors in their establishment.
Students told THE DAILY over the weekend that between 30 and 40 people were cited.
Police went to the Deuce at about 1:30 a.m. Friday because of a fight outside the bar, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Because of the fight, officers had to perform a liquor license check on the bar, police said, meaning they were required to confirm that all of the bar’s patrons were 21 or older.
The owner of the Deuce could not be reached for comment Monday.
Claire Neumann, a Communication freshman, said she received a citation. All the lights in the Deuce were turned on at about 2 a.m., she said, and about 20 police officers surrounded the bar’s exits. She added that patrons were required to show identification before they left.
Neumann said she told an officer she was 18 and didn’t have an ID but had borrowed the ID of a friend who went in the bar first, she said. She told the officer she hadn’t been drinking.
Neumann was taken along with 10 other girls to a paddy wagon, she said.
“A couple of girls were freaking out and saying, ‘This is going on our record,'” Neumann said. “Me and two of my other friends were laughing at how ridiculous this was and how the police were on a power trip.”
Neumann said they sat in the parked wagon for about an hour before being driven to the 24th District station, 6464 N. Clark St.
Citations are normally issued at the scene, but because of the large number of people, the time and weather, patrons were taken to the station, said Chicago Police Department spokeswoman Kristina Schuler.
“Every name has to be run through the system to check for warrants,” Schuler said. “It takes a while.”
Men were put in a separate cell from the women. At about 5:30 a.m., police officers took individuals out to issue citations, she said.
When the people were released with citations, some took taxis home and others had friends pick them up, Neumann said.
“We went to IHOP, and the night was over,” she said.
Reach Beth Murtagh at [email protected].
