Parade Route Boozers May Face Harsher Fines

If organizers and local officials have their way, the North Side's booze-filled parade days could be a thing of the past.

The City Council's Public Safety Committee unanimously voted last week to move forward an ordinance that would significantly increase the fines for those found drinking near parade routes anywhere in the city, whether it's next door in Lake View at the Gay Pride Parade or near the city's southern border at the South Side Irish soiree.

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The measure, sponsored by Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th), and worked on by a committee for the city's renown South Side Irish Parade is viewed by its drafters as another tool to curtail drinking at parades.

"I want our community to know that we are doing everything possible to make sure it remains a safe family friendly event, as it was last year," O'Shea said, of the South Side parade. "This ordinance is another tool in the police department's tool box."

The parade returned to Western Avenue last year after a two year absence. The committee has been careful to emphasize the neighborhood aspects of the event and a strict zero tolerance policy when it comes to alcohol.

The parade will once again have private security and strict restrictions on revelers being bused in from other locations, said Joe Connelly, co-chair of the parade committee.

Some Lake View neighbors are singing a similar tune.

That's why the Northalsted Business Alliance plans to spend $30,000 this year on private security measures in Boystown, $5,000 more than Patch reported they spent in 2012. The money is used year-round, especially during summer, to help cut crime in the popular entertainment district, and it’s combined with Chicago Police’s new entertainment detail to curb crime on the North Side.

The ordinance, if approved by the full council next Wednesday, will enhance fines for those cited for the following violations within 800 feet of a parade route:

• 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.

However, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) told DNAinfo Chicago he’s not worried about the new ordinance having a great affect on the Pride Parade.

"I really defer to the police on how they manage that and figure out what's in the best value of their time in the limited resources we have,” he told DNAinfo.

And this is the first year Pride Fest slated for a separate weekend than the annual Pride parade, news Patch reported last week. Organizers say they plan to hold Chicago’s Pride festival the weekend before the annual parade, gearing up for a potential “Pride Week.”

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