In his 14 years as Naperville's mayor and liquor commissioner, George Pradel has never revoked a local bar or restaurant's liquor license.
Which begs the questions: is that because city officials and police tend to go easy on nightclub and restaurant owners because of the copious tax revenue their businesses generate? Or is it because the downtown nightlife district -- despite its rowdy reputation in some quarters -- is comparatively trouble-free?
Articles from the Naperville Sun library and anecdotal evidence suggest that out of the thousands of people visiting the downtown area on a typical Friday or Saturday, 1 percent or fewer are arrested for assault, battery, property damage or other crimes related to alcohol consumption there.
Still, the city's 32 liquor-licensed establishments and their employees can be held legally liable for indulging their patrons by "over-serving" them and, in some instances, conjuring their darker sides.
"We're constantly telling them we don't want them to over-serve," Pradel said of local tavern and restaurant operators. "Our police check all the time to see that people aren't being over-served. The owners could be in deep trouble" for that if, for example, a patron should become involved in a drunken-driving crash, he said.
"I think our city is very fortunate that we have such responsible owners of the bars and restaurants that serve liquor," Pradel said. "I know it's hard times, but we really put the clamp on people, and if they're over-serving, we're going to be taking them to court."
What do you think? Do you think Naperville bartenders to a good job at monitoring patrons' alcohol intake? Do you think that downtown Naperville's nightlife promotes fun, safe socializing - or is it becoming an area that draws more debauchery out of people than other areas?
And furthermore - do you think bartenders should be held liable if a patron drinks too much - or should that be something that simply falls under the category of "personal responsibility?"
Voice your thoughts - they might be published in The Sun this week!
Recently in Crime Category
Frequent and longtime guests and participants of this forum will recall discussion about how Naperville deploys its police force, and debate about whether the city needs such a presence of officers downtown.
We're about to find out. To help plug an $11 million shortfall, Naperville is looking at reducing its workforce by 40 positions citywide. To show how deep the cuts would go -- and just how serious this economic situation is -- nine positions would be eliminated from the police department, including the third downtown beat officer, its second crime prevention officer and its domestic violence investigator.
Do you think this forum played any role at all in the proposed cuts city officials are considering? Are you surprised by the cuts, or are they what you expected? (We've known for some time a hiring freeze was in place.) How well do you think city officials listen to input from constituents? How concerned are you about staffing cuts affecting public safety operations--in the police and fire departments?
Technology is great at improving convenience. And kids seem to pick up the tricks a lot quicker than adults.
But as a story in Sunday's Sun details, police and parents are increasing concerned that it's often difficult to trace messages and pictures send via cell phones. There's even a legislative push on to require wireless companies to offer parents the ability to retrieve messages from cell phones used by their minor children.
It's scary enough worrying about kids doing inappropriate things on the Internet, but at least computer communications can be tracked. Not so with cell phones, we're learning. Your kids could be taking, sending and receiving improper photos with friends and even strangers, and once they're deleted from the device they could be gone for good.
Sexual predators know this, and police worry that criminals who might meet your kids on the Internet are steering them to cell phones because it's harder to track them down.
How confident are you that your kids aren't doing anything inappropriate with their cell phones or computers? What do you think about the difficulty in tracking cell phone communications? Are you more concerned about tracking criminal conduct, or the potential compromises in user privacy if laws required wireless companies to provide the ability to track transmissions?
Summer might seem innocent, but the warm weather can make it more tempting for would-be thieves to flip door handles for an easy stash. In May, June and July this year, about 200 vehicles have been burglarized here, according to the Police Department. Of those, 78 percent didn't use force. That means burglars are checking cars to see if they're locked - if not, they lift cds, GPSs, sunglasses, cell phones and any other valuables they can get easily. More than 80 percent of these happen between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. - when you're eating dinner, watching TV, reading and sleeping. You're probably home when it happens.
Two young men have been arrested and a third suspect has charges pending. Police have increased patrols in "hot spots" where these crimes seem to clutter. Police also ask residents to do a simple preventative measure: lock your car doors. Seems pretty simple, but the low crime rate in Naperville seems to lull some into thinking "doesn't happen here."
If this crime has happened to you, what advice do you have for others? What are your horror stories? What else can police do to prevent these crimes? What can you do?
A couple of slick con artists scammed a Naperville couple out of $3,200 last week. George, 87, and Betty, 84, told their story to The Sun so that others might learn from their mistake.
The cons convinced the couple that their grandson was in a Canadian jail and needed bail money wired to him.
One wonders, after reading George and Betty's story in Tuesday's Sun, how the con artists knew to target older couples in affluent communities like Naperville and Western Springs. Do they look at Census data and randomly call people until a vulnerable-sounding older person answers? Or do they buy information, including names and phone numbers, from companies that collect such data?
How do these guys know who to target? How many calls do they have to make before they successfully pull a scam?
Have you ever fallen for a scam, via e-mail, phone or other means? Tell us about it.
It's called Article 36, and it allows authorities to seize vehicles in 48 different instances in which offenders commit a crime, including driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license or transporting more than 10 cartons of cigarettes. (We are not making this up.)
As Wednesday's Sun reports, they've had tremendous success lately taking vehicles away from criminals in DuPage County. What about the Constitution? Isn't there something in the Fourth Amendment about unlawful search and seizure? OK, maybe this doesn't violate the letter of the law, but it certainly tests the spirit. Does the punishment fit the crime, in your opinion, when authorities can seize vehicles like this?
One word about this thread: Let's keep the discussion focused on the legislative aspect of this question, and not enforcement. We've had plenty of threads lately about police. Let's talk about the lawmakers who created this legislation, and the courts that have upheld it.
Sure, of course you do. That stuff you read/hear about would never happen to you, because you monitor what your children do online. That's why there's no need for you to go to tonight's Internet safety meeting in Naperville for parents, right?
Let's do a quick poll: How many of your kids have MySpace or Facebook accounts? Ever had to order your kid to remove a photo from one of those sites? Ever consider they might be creating additional accounts and hiding them from you?
Do you let your child have a computer in his/her bedroom, with a web cam? That's just asking for trouble.
How about cameras on cell phones? It's becoming quite common for kids to take nude pictures of themselves or their friends and send them electronically to each other, as pranks, or sometimes to spite someone. Have you ever asked to look at the pictures stored in your kid's cell phone?
Just a few thoughts. Creepy predators using the Internet to lure kids is so 2004. Nowadays, it's more about how kids are using technology to embarrass themselves and their families.
Friday's Sun cover is a story about local business owners expressing their gratitude toward Naperville police by making an $1,1117 donation to the Police Department for solving a crime involving the theft of an expensive puppy.
Earlier this year, detectives and investigators made an arrest within 36 hours of Naperville's first non-family murder in years.
So what's the verdict on Naperville cops? Are they the best money can buy? Can you say they're not worth every penny? Next week they'll remain at the forefront of Internet crime safety by hosting a presentation instructing parents on how to protect their children from Internet predators.
Is it a policy decision of the city council to place such emphasis on crime and devoting taxpayer resources toward crime prevention? Or is it an administrative function, department heads who take it upon themselves to ensure the crime rate stays low?
Testimonials would indicate the police in Naperville are doing a great job. Do you agree?
Since Memorial Day, vandals have damaged at least five sculptures on display in downtown Naperville this summer as part of a United Way fundraiser. Signs are stolen from some and parts are snapped off of others.
Keep in mind these sculptures are raffled off at the end of the summer and are a major source of revenue for the Naperville United Way, a benevolent organization that does good throughout the community.
So, what's going on here? Bored youth, ignorant of the purpose of these sculptures? Drunk, young adults, stumbling out of Naperville watering holes in the wee hours and grabbing onto sculptures to steady themselves and having frog tongues snap off in their hands?
Has the idea of displaying and auctioning sculptures run its course? Is it time for United Way to come up with some other idea to raise funds? Some concept less prone to vandalism?
Drew Peterson, a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy, faces up to five years in prison on a charge of possessing an illegal weapon -- a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches. Peterson, who was released Wednesday after posting $7,500 bail -- 10 percent of a $75,000 bond -- says that as a member of the Bolingbrook Police Department's SWAT team it was legal for him to possess the rifle when authorities seized it and other weapons back in October.
Why arrest Drew on the gun charge now, and why set bond at $75,000? At a hearing Thursday a judge is expected to allow Peterson's son to take possession of the other guns that were seized.
What do you think of the arrest? How do you think this arrest fits into the larger investigations -- into the now-determined homicide of Kathleen Savio, Drew's third wife, and Stacy's disappearance? What do you think will happen next?
