Alcohol enforcement officers and other liquor control officials gave owners and managers of establishments that serve alcohol in DeKalb an overview of liquor laws and enforcement policy on Tuesday night.

Part of the meeting was a response to a covert survey conducted between April 1998 and November 2001 that revealed that 39 percent of DeKalb County liquor establishments sold alcohol to minors.

“DeKalb County did well compared to other places with colleges,” said Marie O’Brien, a member of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, “but 39 percent is not acceptable.”

The DeKalb County Partnership for a Safe, Active and Family Environment (DCP/SAFE) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency organized the event.

“We want to help [DeKalb County liquor license holders] to establish a safe and healthy environment,” said DeKalb County State’s Attorney Ron Matekaitis.

Second Ward Alderman Kris Povlsen, also of DCP/SAFE, highlighted some of the local ad campaigns designed to dissuade minors from buying alcohol.

The ads claim that most kids don’t drink or smoke.

“We have, just by educating young people that most kids don’t drink, increased the percentage of students who avoid alcohol and tobacco use,” he said.

Project 21, a statewide program, targets employees at liquor serving businesses as well as minors who might try to illegally purchase alcohol products.

“We found that when [police] do compliance checks, the people who get caught are typically part-time workers that don’t get trained … and don’t card,” O’Brien said.

The Project 21 program has provided employers with posters and other materials that outline the law for workers and customers. They emphasized that they wanted to make the environment safer for businesses to operate when selling alcohol, including avoiding reduced bar entry age in DeKalb.