New East Dundee bar and restaurant owners, managers and employees will be required to take a two-hour training class conducted by village police under an amendment to municipal liquor codes.
“What we are trying to do is set expectations with the management … in regards to our local code and what is our tolerance level,” Police Chief James Kruger said Monday at the East Dundee Village Board meeting.
The village and the state of Illinois already require servers and bartenders to undergo Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training, Kruger said. But with the liquor code violations seen over the last few months at local establishments, the East Dundee Liquor Commission suggested more training be provided, he said.
The class will be offered every two years and recorded so it can be viewed by new business owners, managers and employees who come on board after it’s been held, Kruger said.
The training will be different from what is covered with BASSET, focusing on local ordinances, such as the one that mandates customers not be allowed to take alcohol outside of the business, he said. It will not replace BASSET certification, which would still be required.
“I think it helps make sure everyone is on the same page,” Kruger said. “It will help with maintaining community standards.”
Trustee Scott Kunze suggested the police training include information on the types of ordinance violations seen in the last couple of years. Kruger agreed it would cover actual scenarios the police have experienced.
East Dundee has had numerous incidents in the last few months, including a fight and shooting in July at Carol’s Corner and an October fight involving a gun inside D.C. Cobb’s after which shots were fired outside.
One bar, River Lee’s Pub, had its liquor license suspended for a month — through Nov. 20 — for allowing patrons to leave with alcohol and exit through an unlocked patio gate to a nearby parking lot, where they allegedly conducted a drug transaction.
Earlier in the year, River Lee’s lost its license for a weekend for a series of violations, including failure to report a fight between patrons, allowing patrons to drink outside, failure to intervene when a customer made inappropriate sexual advances to another customer and allowing a patron to drink to the point of extreme intoxication.
Trustee Kathleen Mahony said she believed the new training requirement is a proactive approach to heading off future problems. The class is “not another hurdle” but something that will help businesses stay in line and “not fall into any traps with issues that may (jeopardize)” their license, she said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
