Underage students will have more to be aware of the next time they try to buy alcohol or drink at a bar if a new bill passes the Illinois Congress.

If House Bill 5941 is passed on April 24, it will authorize the Secretary of State to suspend or revoke the driver’s license or permit of a person, without a hearing, who has attempted to purchase or consume alcohol at a bar or business licensed to sell or serve alcohol.

The controversial bill has created an uproar among the University of Illinois Student Government in Urbana and led to petitioning to stop the bill from being passed, Amanda Brode, governmental affairs vice chair at U of I, said.

“There’s obviously an extreme backlash against the bill,” she said.

Having already passed the House of Representatives, the bill is currently in the Senate Rules Committee and will be voted on April 24, with an outcome that looks favorable to pass, Michael McAuliffe, R-Chicago, said.

As a sponsor of the bill, McAuliffe is confident the bill will cut down underage drinking because of the threat of losing a license.

“The only way to get younger people’s attention is the possibility of losing their driver’s license,” he said. “If they don’t break the law then they won’t lose their license.”

However, Brode’s concern is that the bill is a mismatch of the crime and penalty. Under the bill, if a person gets caught drinking in a bar or buying alcohol they lose their license, but they do not have to be driving to have their license revoked.

In addition, Brode said if the bill is passed, underage people who violate the bill do not get a hearing, which eliminates due process.

“The penalty of the crime doesn’t match and it takes away student rights to due process,” she said.

Brode also said if the bill is passed it will cause more parties, and in turn more issues with safety. At parties, she said, more injuries will occur and “possibly death,” and underage people will hesitate to call for help if someone is in serious trouble for fear of their license being revoked.

“Their more apt to say ‘I’ll just let my friend sleep it off’,” she said.

Furthermore, Brode said students who are caught in violation of the bill will be restrained from necessary daily activities such as work or religious activities.

Regardless, McAuliffe stands firmly behind the bill, and because of a unanimous vote for the bill in the House, he is optimistic it will pass in the Senate and be signed by the governor.

“I don’t see why a legislator wouldn’t vote for it,” he said. “This is something that has a good chance of passing.”

Nevertheless, Brode and the U. of I. Student Government will be trying to meet with anyone on the Rules Committee Tuesday in an effort to, “persuade some to vote against it,” she said.

“(We’ll) hopefully sway them and find out where their loyalties are,” she said. “Students are strongly against this. It’s not very fair.”