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Crime & Safety

Police to Businesses: Check IDs Before Selling Alcohol

Darien police cited six clerks at local businesses for selling liquor to minors.

When in doubt, check it out.

Deputy Chief John Cooper of the urges anyone selling alcohol in the city to check the IDs of anyone who looks younger than 30 years of age.

If they don’t check IDs, store and restaurant employees could find themselves facing fines of $100 to $500, as several clerks learned the hard way when police conducted random compliance checks June 18 in Darien.

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Cooper explained the compliance checks as “where we send in someone that is under the age of 21 to all the liquor license holders, and see if they will be sold to.”

He said that to conduct the random at checks at local businesses, the police department usually uses a college student who is at least 18 years of age.

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“All businesses that sell liquor should be checking IDs; ‘carding’ purchasers that look younger than 30 years of age,” Cooper said.

But according to Cooper, at six businesses in Darien June 18, clerks failed to ask the underage purchaser for identification.

Cited for selling liquor to a minor during an alcohol sales compliance check were:

  • Azucena Camacho, 38, of the 5000 block of W. Park Ave., Cicero, at Brookhaven Market, 7516 Cass Avenue;
  • Shirelle Dixon, 42, of 8030 Janes Ave., Woodridge, at Walgreens, 7516 Cass Avenue;
  • Michelle A. Rozell, 41, of the 0-100 block of Elm St., Darien, at Dry Dock, 1125 Frontage Road;
  • Bernadette M. Svencner, 20, of the 6700 block of Dale Road, Darien, at Patio, 7440 Kingery Highway;
  • Dawn R. Kurth, 70, of the 7400 block of Blackburn, Downers Grove, at Darien Pantry, 737 Plainfield Road; and
  • Bharatkumar H. Bhagwaker, 49, of the 0-100 block of Vento Court, Streamwood, at Heritage Foods, 7515 Cass Avenue.

Cooper said those charged with selling liquor to minors June 18 were cited and released under the city’s liquor ordinance, and will have to appear in Downers Grove Traffic Court.

The businesses where the illegal sales allegedly took place will be turned over to the city for review, Cooper added. Businesses can receive a warning, suspension or revocation of their liquor license, he said.

 “We want to try and stop underage consumption of alcohol, which may also lead to underage DUI,” Cooper said. “Sales to minors is where it starts to become a problem.”

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