Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighart, the city's liquor commissioner, said Sunday afternoon that the details of the case will dictate the city's response. The case will be handled differently if he drank at several bars, Schweighart said. Champaign Deputy Liquor Commissioner Teri Legner said bars could be held responsible for Novella's death if it is proven that liquor laws were violated. Right now we're speculating. Liability is a big issue when something like this occurs.
State law prohibits bar employees from serving alcohol to intoxicated customers.
The city provides, but does not require, training for bar managers and supervisors to learn how to determine when a patron is too drunk to be served. The Champaign Liquor Advisory Commission has been discussing new bar regulations since the beating death of University graduate student Ernest Seri, who was killed by bouncers at a Champaign bar in June of 1998. Legner said the regulations would probably apply to the case if they were already in place, depending on whether it is determined that bars were responsible. Now it's almost dead. They are beginning to think that the laws are too burdensome, but the point of the matter is that someone died.