It is legal in Illinois for persons under 21 to drink in their house under the supervision of their parent(s). http://www.state.il.us/lcc/alcohol.htm

Laws are in place for a reason. Alcohol is a drug...we teach our children that in programs like D.A.R.E. Why ANYONE would think children drinking is ok, is beyond my comprehension. Obviously these parents were not supervising this party very well, if at all, if there was a teen passed out in his/her own vomit. I think they got off lightly with only one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Steve, I was surprised that you said "it is legal in Illinois for persons under 21 ro drink in their house under the supervision of their parent(s)" because according to your link, it says:
PRIVATE RESIDENCE USE:

1) It is unlawful for any parent or guardian to permit his or her residence to be used by any person under the age of 21 who is in possession of or is consuming any alcoholic beverage as prohibited by Illinois law.

PENALTY: Class A Misdemeanor.

Steve, I apologize, I found where you cited it, however it only applies to the minor of the parents. It does not allow the parent(s) to supervise OTHER peoples kids. So they could only have allowed THEIR daughter to drink...none of the 30 or so other kids.
"Illinois law prohibits persons under the age of 21 from purchasing, possessing, consuming and accepting a gift of alcoholic beverages, except under the direct supervision and approval of the parents or parent in the privacy of a home or during a religious ceremony. A person under the age of 21 violating this provision is guilty of a Class C Misdemeanor.

PENALTY: The person under 21 may be fined up to $500 and receive a jail sentence of up to 30 days. "

I think it is ok for parents to allow their own children to drink in their own household. A parents number one responsibility is to educate their children. It is better to expose kids to booze and teach them the truth about alcohol rather than let them learn about if from a classmate.

Responsible drinking.A little wine with some dinners.In some households it is more accepted .18 is considered to be an adult by the justice system,eligible for voting rights and to go into the military to fight wars.I would allow my children to drink responsibly at home after reaching the age of 18 but,I would not allow parties until 21 for legal reasons and to respect other parents rules.

It is NOT against the law to allow your OWN child to drink alcohol in YOUR home. On another note, most of us parents today were drinking at their ages too! Remember your childhood. It made you who you are today. I would rather my daughters know what it is like to be intoxicated and how to handle themselves properly under the influence of alcohol before they go off to college, than for them to go to college, get highly intoxicated off of a few drinks and have something happen that they don't understand or remember. And these kids are going to drink regardless of what we as parents do or say to try to stop them. Wouldn't you feel better knowing that they choose to do it with you? You know where they are, who they are with, and what they are consuming. I personally think we should all mind our own business and unless it was one of our children, shouldn't have any say.

I think that people like Melissa raise their family like the family on the Showtime show called Shameless. They don't need to watch it on Sunday, they are living it! It is very sad that a lot of parents are idiots and let their kids do whatever they want. SAD!

MOVE ON ALREADY!! Let's take a Poll on "The Lane Bryant Massacre or something that's news worthy!! " OOo wait, that's just old news. We would rather rip apart our neighbors and business with our shallow comments!! This is a great website, cant wait to never come back.

I agree 100% with Melissa. I had a lot of friends from strict upbringings who were not allowed to experiment with alcohol. Those kids partied a lot more in college and many of them did not graduate. K is one of those parents whose kids can't handle real life outside of their parents control. Kurt, if you don't think this story is news worthy then don't read it.

Bye Bye Kurt,
Don't let the door hit you in the backside on your way out!

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones..people, be very careful of the words coming out of your mouth - you may be eating them one day..

Melissa and Sgt. USMC are the only rational thinkers commenting on this article

TO Carrie Frillman -
How about we be mature and not biased on the situation?

Was it really neccessary for you to include the 5th option;
"Of course! I want to be "cool" to my kids and their friends." ?

Probably not.

I'd like to see some coverage on the Lane Bryant massacre too.How about an update that includes recent investigators' statements? The case is open, is it not? Someone knows who did this horrible crime.