The DeKalb Police Department’s program to keep tobacco out of youths’ hands will be funded for a second year.

The department has been chosen by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission to receive a grant of $4,620 to continue the educational and enforcement program on minimum-age tobacco laws.

The grant is based on the number of retailers who sell tobacco products. DeKalb currently has 42 retailers, said Lt. Carl Leoni of the DeKalb Police Department.

The DeKalb Police Department applied for the grant a few years ago after already checking for compliance without the grant’s funds, Leoni said.

The program begins with educating the retailers on the program by giving the store signs and tips to help identify minors.

Compliance checks, which are performed on establishments three times throughout the year, consist of a minor entering the store asking to purchase cigarettes and presenting identification showing their age, usually between age 15 and 17.

“If they kick them out, we go in and say good job; if they sell to them, we go in and make an arrest,” Leoni said.

The fine can range between $250 and $500 and the store’s tobacco license can be at risk for a violation after a few offenses, but Leoni said no one has failed twice since the program started. The checks are expected to begin within the next month.

“We are pleased to receive this grant to increase our efforts to reduce youth access to tobacco products,” DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen said in a police department press release. “The health of the children in our community is very important.”