Evanston mayor considering sanctions against bar

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"This is not okay," Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl tells Keg owner Tom Migon about a recent round of citations against the restaurant-bar establishment for underage drinking. Migon said the Keg had really cracked down on the problem since a closing in 2010, and would take further steps, if advised by the city. (Bob Seidenberg\Staff Writer)

Updated: January 30, 2012 9:50AM

With Twitter messages quoted as evidence, Evanston Liquor Control Review Board members are mulling action against The Keg — even possible closure — following a spate of underage drinking citations issued at the establishment.

An obviously frustrated Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, who also serves as the city’s liquor commissioner, told Keg owner Tom Migon at a hearing Friday that she would decide by Tuesday what actions to take against the bar-restaurant, located just off downtown, at 810 Grove St.

“The last thing I want to do is close an Evanston business,” she told him. “It’s not what I want to do.”

At the same time, she said, the latest citations and The Keg’s alleged reputation as an easy place for underage drinkers to drink are serious issues.

Earlier this month, police issued 19 underage drinking citations. Then, after the watch commander stopped in and issued a warning, police returned later and cited three more people, officials said.

Closed for a time

The establishment was closed down for several days in 2010 after officials reported 55 police calls to the bar that year for alleged underage drinking, unruly behavior, public urination and other ordinance violations.

In 2005, then-Mayor Lorraine H. Morton ordered The Keg closed for a week after a fatal shooting took place inside the establishment.

This time, Liquor Control Review Board members referred to screen shots of Twitter messages suggesting the place was lax on identification.

One announced Tuesday as a “Booze day, IDs are optional,” said City Attorney Grant Farrar, reading some into the record.

Another Twitter message, following a Northwestern University basketball loss to Ohio State, states: “because of the loss, Ohio State University fans need to bring three forms of ID” to The Keg “while NU fans just bring your WildCard (the official photo identification card issued on campus).”

“What is going on?” Tisdahl asked Migon and his attorney Todd Stephens. “This is not OK.”

No Twitter account

Migon said he doesn’t have a Twitter account and didn’t know who was posting the messages. He just recently got e-mail service on his cell phone, he said.

Migon and his attorney, Todd Stephens, said the establishment has taken a number of steps to prevent underage drinking after the 2010 closure.

They include demanding two forms of identification (accepting a debit or credit card as one form) and installation of a camera that saves images to a computer.

A big problem is fake identification cards, which come out of China and look identical to official drivers licenses, said Stephens, laying a batch in front of the mayor.

He and Migon said they would be open to other moves, including having a police officer on premises, and even changing the name of the establishment.

As for the Twitter messages, “I don’t have anyway to trace it,” Migon said. “I don’t have any idea where it’s coming from.”

Responded the mayor, “if you have no idea what to do about it, that makes it an even more serious problem for the community.”

Cop chief concerned

Police Chief Richard Eddington said police check other establishments periodically and have never found the volume of citations that has been connected to The Keg over the years.

Eddington was skeptical that phony China identification pieces constitute the core of The Keg’s problem.

He also said Keg operators need to change their practices, including accepting a credit or debit card as one form of identification.

Stephens asked the chief if he knew of any other Evanston establishments where two forms of identification cards are required.

“To my knowledge, no,” replied the chief, “but I don’t know any establishment that has this track record.”

Liquor panel member Patrick Hughes said he has material dating back eight years documenting problems at The Keg.

Particularly “with over 1,000 Tweets, you know this is going on,” he told Migon.

Another Liquor Control Review Board member, Byron Wilson, drawing on more than 30 years in the liquor business, said it is almost impossible to control the use of fake identifications.