Article 1—Student Rights and Responsibilities

Part 3. Student Discipline

§ 1-307 Alcoholic Beverages—General Rules

(a) All students, wherever they happen to be, are expected to observe the liquor laws of the local jurisdiction. (See § 1-201 and subsection (f) below.) Under the liquor laws of the State of Illinois and the cities of Champaign and Urbana, and this rule:

(1) Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages by students under twenty-one years of age is prohibited.

(2) No student, after purchasing or otherwise obtaining alcoholic beverages, may give or otherwise furnish those beverages to any person under twenty-one years of age.

(3) No student may sell or offer for sale alcoholic beverages without a valid liquor license. This includes so-called “cup parties,” in which containers are sold on site for the purpose of obtaining furnished alcoholic beverages.

(b) In determining appropriate sanctions for violations of subsection (a) above, communal alcohol (for example, in kegs or not in its original container, or the distribution of cups with open access to alcohol), drinking games (or other activities that promote unsafe or inappropriate drinking), and open parties may be considered aggravating factors.

(c) The consumption of alcoholic beverages associated with disruptive behavior is prohibited. The fact that a student may have been drinking shall not be accepted as an excuse for disruptive behavior. In such instances, appropriate sanctions will be applied and referral for personal assistance may be indicated. (See § 2-102 and § 3-603 concerning Mandatory Assessment and Parental Involvement, respectively.)

(d) The use of false forms of identification or the identification of another person to enter a liquor establishment or to purchase or possess alcoholic beverages is prohibited.

(e) Alcohol use resulting in incapacitation that requires transportation to the hospital by emergency medical personnel, or refusal to accept such transportation when it is recommended by emergency medical personnel, can trigger a mandatory assessment. (See § 2-102.)

(f) Under Illinois law, a person under twenty-one years of age cannot possess or consume alcoholic beverages. It is against the law to sell or deliver alcohol to anyone under twenty-one years of age, or to any intoxicated person. The Secretary of State is authorized to suspend or revoke without a hearing the driver’s license of a person under twenty-one years of age who has purchased or attempted to purchase alcohol from a duly licensed establishment or who has consumed alcohol on licensed premises. The Secretary of State is authorized to suspend or revoke the driver’s license of a person under twenty-one years of age who is convicted for a violation of the Liquor Control Act or similar provision of a local ordinance prohibiting a person under twenty-one years of age from purchasing, accepting, possessing, or consuming alcohol and prohibiting the transfer or alteration of identification cards, the use of the identification card of another or a false or forged identification card, or the use of false information to obtain an identification card. It is illegal for a person under twenty-one years of age to present or possess false identification in an attempt to enter a liquor establishment or to purchase alcohol. It is also illegal to sell or offer for sale alcoholic beverages without a liquor license or to patronize any unlicensed liquor establishment.

The cities of Champaign and Urbana both have city ordinances which closely parallel state law in regards to alcohol. Additionally, in Champaign and Urbana it is an ordinance violation for a minor (eighteen years of age or younger in Champaign; seventeen years of age or younger in Urbana) to be present in a liquor establishment or for any individual to carry open alcohol out of an establishment or in public areas.

Substantial penalties exist in Illinois for the operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater. Arrests are also possible at lower levels if driving is impaired. Drivers under twenty-one years of age with any trace of alcohol in their systems can lose their driving privileges. Transporting open alcohol containers in a motor vehicle or allowing an intoxicated person to operate a vehicle are also punishable under Illinois law.