DeKalb police officials say seven businesses sold tobacco to minors last week. That’s out of 27 inspected local tobacco retailers.
The compliance checks determine if businesses sell tobacco to minors.
The DeKalb police department uses minors 15 to 17 years old to see if businesses will sell tobacco to them. If those inspected businesses ended up selling tobacco to those minors, they violated a city ordinance and got an information kit about minimum-age tobacco laws.
Illinois law says tobacco sellers can be fined up to $800 if they are caught selling to minors four or more times in a two-year period. The least they can be fined is $200 for one offence.
However, DeKalb municipal code says retailers can be charged between $350 and $750 for each violation.
