Party Bus Busted By Champaign Police

[UPDATED: 5/3/13 at 07:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT]

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — City officials in Bloomington may take a closer look at regulations for vehicles for hire after a party bus carrying 60 passengers from the Bloomington-Normal area of Illinois to the bars in the nearby city of Champaign was placed “out of service” for several violations.

The Wild Nites bus was stopped in a joint operation by the Champaign Police Department and the Illinois State Police at 11:22 p.m. April 25 at Prospect and Bradley avenues. It was pulled out of service for several violations, Champaign police said, including the rear door being bolted shut.

In addition to the safety issues, 51 underage passengers were cited for illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor.

Bloomington city attorney Todd Greenburg says the party buses have been in Bloomington for about five years, starting with minivans, which city officials initially considered to be a violation of the city-licensed system of cab companies. But cab company owners said they didn’t have enough manpower to transport all of the people, particularly from the downtown bar areas, and supported legislation to license the party buses.

Greenburg said that once the buses leave the city, the city has no jurisdiction.

“So if it gets pulled over in Champaign, it’s a Champaign issue and really, has nothing to do with us,” he said. “But, we still want to take a closer look at see if changes need to be made.”

Source: pantagraph.com.

Initial story at pantagraph.com.