Drinking Laws in the State of Illinois - Research Paper Example

DRINKING The current investigation looks at drinking laws in the of Illinois, specifically the laws involving drinking age, and the laws involving drinking and driving. The many highway fatalities that happen nationally as well as in the state of Illinois, shows what a problem alcohol can be. The history of this topic or problem is varied, and in terms of background and history of the issue, can be traced to the prohibition times of the thirties and even earlier, as the political mobilization of American society began to become aligned with temperance movements. During this time, society took a very strict rule to drinking, and Illinois, like other states under Prohibition, forbade alcohol. During this time and since, the distribution of alcohol has remained a legal and political issue, which arguably has roots going all the way back to the Whiskey Rebellion and earlier. There have also been changes over time in enforcement such as increases and decreases over time of the legal drinking age (once 18, now 21) in Illinois. It was observed that after many states lowered the legal drinking age below twenty-one in the seventies, traffic accidents began to skyrocket. In terms of underage drinking in Illinois, this is all too common, even though the legal drinking age is 21. This question would seem on the superficial level to be best left up to parents and individual cases, but alcohol is associated with federal policy in the U.S., and therefore there is no escaping the issue in a political and legal sense as it applies to states. For example, if Illinois decided to change the legal drinking age to 18, it would no longer get federal funding for things like highways. Therefore, it is appropriate to divide this issue between its political and legal ramifications and meanings to get an accurate bearing on the topic. Basically, there is a strong precedent to the question of whether or not the minimum drinking age should be lowered to below that of twenty-one in Illinois, at which it stands at this writing. This is because after initiatives in the seventies gave people under the age of twenty-one greater powers to participate politically, as they previously had been being somewhat absurdly drafted to fight in nationalist/politically oriented wars without having the power to participate in political decisions. Somewhat after this reckoning or smoothing out of this absurdity, it also came to the attention of politicians and legislators that those under the age of twenty-one might also enjoy other freedoms, such as the freedom to consume the alcoholic beverages of their choice without harassment from the police or other authority figures. And yet still, in Illinois, “The consumption of alcoholic liquor by any person under 21 years of age is forbidden. Whoever violates any provisions of this Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. The possession and dispensing, or consumption by a person under 21 is also forbidden” (Illinois, 2009). The backlash related to this topic as it stands today mainly centers on traffic fatalities in Illinois, which also relates to another important topic in drinking laws: DUI laws in Illinois. These two topics are linked, as well: it was observed that after many states lowered the legal drinking age below twenty-one in the seventies, traffic accidents began to skyrocket because of DUI. “DUI / DWI arrests in Illinois trigger two separate cases: the court case, where the punishment can include jail, fines, a suspended drivers license, required alcohol education classes, and more” (Illinois, 2009)As one balanced cumulative source states, “In conclusion, the preponderance of evidence indicates that higher legal drinking ages reduce rates of traffic crashes. Of all analyses that reported significant effects, 98% found higher drinking ages associated with lower rates of traffic crashes. Only 2% found the opposite” (State, 2009). It is also in keeping with a description of this topic to note in the spirit of fairness that the political power of individuals, and that this demographic also has a predisposition to get into more traffic accidents than the majority of the population in age comparison with or without the legal right to consume alcohol. During the seventies, as noted, Illinois, along with around thirty other states, reduced the legal drinking age under pressure from the cognizance that if eighteen-year- olds could go to war and die for their country, they could reasonably be expected to be able to vote, and also to drink alcohol if they wanted. But as mentioned in the above section, the lowering of the legal drinking age was seen to be problematic because it also represented an increase of traffic and other accidents in the age group. Illinois tried many different approaches, at one point raising the age from 18 to 19: at this point, a Nonetheless, by the mid-eighties, the days of a legal drinking age under twenty-one in Illinois were numbered. Although estimates differed concerning these exact statistics and their veracity, Illinois and most other states began to hike the legal drinking age back up to twenty-one, where it stands today as a national standard and status quo. As mentioned, the current situation is that the Illinois and national laws dictate that persons under the age of twenty-one may not legally buy or consume alcoholic beverages. This is certainly not to say that they don’t anyway, but it is to say that the powers that be have decided that it is best and safest to pursue a plan which puts twenty-one as the legal drinking age and persecutes those who drink under this age as a method of deterrence. It might be stated in addition to this information and as a way of explaining its function that the base-line statistic contained in this report has nothing to do with drunk driving, but rather has to do with the historically accepted and unfortunate fact that the mayhem level of antic youth is as traditionally high as it has ever been, whether this mayhem involves the consumption of depressants or not. This is the equation. Arguably, the oft-forced and perhaps even spurious correlation between increased drunk driving levels and lowered minimum drinking ages is not reason enough to deprive those aged 18-21 of their right to drink in Illinois. “No doubt raising the drinking age to 25, 30 or even 50… would also tend to reduce drunk driving. The youngest age group is being chosen as a symbolic gesture because of its political impotence and because...there are no major economic consequences” (Illinois, 2009). The future will hold out the variance of these statistics as it again becomes clear that Illinois’ levels of traffic accidents and reckless youthful behavior are no greater than other states which do have a 21 year age minimum. However, change may come slow to Illinois drinking laws in this regard, because of state resolutions passed on the issue. “Pritchard last week introduced a legislative resolution that would express the Illinois House of Representatives’ desire to keep the state’s drinking age at 21. The measure is House Resolution 1499. Unlike bills that win legislative approval and get signed by the governor, resolutions do not carry the weight of law” (State, 2009). Drinking laws are very complex and there are a lot of different categories; this current report has focused primarily on DUI and drinking age laws in Illinois, specifically. REFERENCE Illinois DUI laws (2009). http://www.1800duilaws.com/states/il.asp Illinois drinking age (2009). http://www.youthrights.net/index.php?title=Illinois_Drinking_Age State rep wants to keep drinking age at 21 (2009). http://www.sj-r.com/news/x55301824/State-rep-wants-to-keep-drinking-age-at-21 Read More