Next Up in the Midwest's Battle Against Boozing: Illinois

You know that rule about not talking politics when drinking? The same does not apply when it comes to talking drinks when politicking, and definitely not in Champaign. Home of the University of Illinois, the city of Champaign has recently tackled alcohol problems at a council meeting, the Daily Illini reports. A short list:

1. Excessive intoxication.

2. Lack of routine contact between servers and patrons at bars.

3. The sale of 1.5-liter bottles of wine at bars, stemming from problems caused by campus "wine nights."

4. "Happy Hour legislation."

5. Sale of distilled alcohol in quantities greater than 750 milliliters (a.k.a. a "fifth") in bars.

The restrictive policies, most of which stemmed from problems at campus bars, were shot down because of their "overwhelming" influence on off-campus establishments. The mayor suggested many of the problems would be lifted "simply by raising the entry age to 21," since that's going real well at the University of Iowa. —Alison Go