Four people have been issued $750 fines for allegedly violating the Town of Normal’s COVID-19 executive order prohibiting large gatherings near Illinois State University’s campus, officials said.
The four ordinance violations were issued to people identified as “event hosts” between midnight and 2 a.m. on Sept. 12 (two incidents), Sept. 13, and Sept. 18, said Normal Police Chief Rick Bleichner. The events took place in the 600 block of Dale, 400 block of North Linden, 600 block of Broadway, and 600 block of Dry Grove. All those locations are within a few blocks of ISU.
Two of the four people have settled or paid their fines; two others are pending in court in late October, Bleichner said.
The executive order was issued Aug. 28 and later extended by the town council until Dec. 31.
The goal was to curb the spread of COVID-19 among college students, which spiked almost immediately after they returned to Bloomington-Normal in August. That surge has since subsided. About 1,353 students tested positive for COVID-19, and all but 19 have recovered.
Cadillac Jack's fines
Meanwhile, negligence of COVID-19 rules also has led to $1,500 in fines against a Bloomington bar.
Cadillac Jack’s, 1507 S. Main St., faced three liquor license violations for allegedly not enforcing the state’s mask requirement on several occasions over Labor Day weekend. Authorities eventually ordered everyone to leave the bar, city officials said.
City officials said Cadillac Jack’s was the only establishment to ignore “multiple warnings” as Bloomington Police conducted around 50 compliance checks that weekend.
The $1,500 in fines will resolve those three violations.
“It was a first offense,” said Bloomington City Tari Renner, who is the city’s liquor commissioner. “We kind of went back and forth, the attorneys and others talked about this. We didn’t really have, I didn’t have, as liquor commissioner, any clear precedent for the types of fines or what to administer. But we did want to make it clear, I wanted to make it clear, that we take this seriously, and we want to make sure all proprietors are moving forward and trying to achieve compliance.”
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