Tougher Parade Drinking Restrictions Approved by City Council
An ordinance sponsored by Ald. Matt O'Shea to increase restrictions on public drinking during parades, including the South Side Irish Parade, was passed by the City Council.
It's now official.
An ordinance sponsored by Ald. Matt O'Shea and worked on by the South Side Irish Parade Committee that imposes harsher punishments and tighter restrictions on drinking and intoxication during parades was passed.
"I believe this ordinance will make parades in our great city safer," O'Shea said before the ordinance was unanimously approved Wednesday afternoon.
The ordinance passed committee last week.
Read: Boozers at South Side Irish Parade Might Soon Face Harsher Fines
"It helps us work within our security plan and with the Chicago Police Department so that many of the old behaviors don't come back," said said Joe Connelly, co-chair of the parade committee last week. "There is really no room for open alcohol and this ordinance just further reinforces that."
The ordinance increases the punishment of those found in violation within 200 feet of a parade route. It will apply to all parades within the city.
- Drinking on the public way increases from a minimum of $100 and maximum of $500, to a minimum of $500 and maximum of $1,000
- Intoxication by a minor rises from $25 for the first violation and $100 for subsequent violations to $500 or 25 hours of community service
- Public urination or defecation will increase from a minimum of $100 and maximum of $500, to $500 and $1,000 respectively
More Parade News
MDN
2:54 am on Friday, February 15, 2013
I'll believe it when it applies equally to the Gay Pride and Bud Billiken parades...
Gloria M. Lowery
6:30 pm on Saturday, February 16, 2013
It won't do a damn bit of good. The parade only lasts about an hour and a half in the early afternoon. That leaves the rest of the afternoon and evening to get drunk. Come out and walk Western Ave. a few hours after the parade ends!