Spring Grove teens get deal, keep licenses

From the Thursday, July 3, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Spring Grove teens get deal, keep licenses
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

Not only will some of the teens charged with underage drinking at a February barn party in Spring Grove be able to drive this summer, but the charges they face also might be dismissed in October.

Spring Grove police took 58 teens into custody in February after they discovered a barn party at 7119 S. Solon Road. Of the 58 teens, 22 were charged with underage drinking. Many of the teens received three-month driver’s license suspensions.

State law since January of this year states that any underage drinking conviction or guilty plea – even with supervision – results in driver’s license suspension by the Secretary of State’s Office.

However, their attorneys said the teens were not aware that their licenses would be suspended when they pleaded guilty – and Spring Grove Police Chief Tom Sanders has said publicly that neither was he.

On Wednesday in McHenry Branch Court, 12 of the teens who pleaded guilty were allowed to rescind the pleas that they entered in March.

All first-time offenders among the 12 in court Wednesday and the 10 others who were charged have been offered a deal involving good behavior, alcohol awareness classes, community service, and a monetary contribution to CrimeStoppers or Students Against Drunk Driving, village prosecutor Mary Spiegel said.

“We want to impress upon the kids that we can’t take this lightly,” she said. “This is a serious offense.”

Spiegel said that if the youths don’t receive any new arrests of any kind, register for and complete 10 hours of alcohol awareness and education classes, complete 20 hours of public service work, and make the $50 contribution, the charges will be dropped in October.

But if they aren’t first-time offenders or they fail to complete any of the terms of the agreement, they will be prosecuted, Spiegel said.

“This multi-faceted approach is a great way to impress upon these kids that this is serious, this cannot be treated lightly, and to educate them,” Spiegel said.

Spiegel said the village decided on this approach after investigating how other communities have dealt with underage drinking charges.

In court Wednesday, Judge James S. Cowlin advised the teens to “conduct yourselves in the appropriate manners in the future.”

He said he believed that the original consequences were appropriate after the teens pleaded guilty in March.