New circumstances call for new measures

May 10, 2004

BY RON RAPOPORT SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

If there's anything I like better than a bartender who's ready when I am, it's one with a good memory.

So while Rodrigo Caballero's attorney nominates his client for the National Rifle Association's Man of the Year award, let's hear from Walter Brzeski, who was a bartender at Sluggers from 1988 to 1995 before deciding he'd had enough of life in the fast lane and took a nice quiet job teaching elementary school.

Like the rest of us, Brzeski is hoping the shooting death of Frankie Hernandez in Wrigleyville after a game Thursday was the isolated incident police and the Cubs say it is. But he can't help thinking it's actually a preview of the further trouble that could occur in the months ahead.

"The worst I ever saw,'' Brzeski, who still hangs out with his friends who tend bar and run the pubs near Wrigley Field, said Sunday, "was after the Bulls won their first title. Cars were turned over, people were taking bottles out onto the street and going crazy. It was out of control.''

And that was after a game far removed from Wrigley Field.

The next year, he says, the city learned its lesson. Bars were shut down at midnight; the serving of beer in bottles was forbidden; the police presence was beefed up. The situation was much improved.

The big difference between that era and this one, of course, is the large increase in the number of bars and restaurants that have opened in Wrigleyville in recent years. Anyone who has seen the machine shops and mom-and-pop stores in the neighborhood give way to one more drinking establishment after another knows what Brzeski means. The upshot is far more people coming early to the neighborhood, and staying late afterward, than ever before.

One important problem, he says, lies with the large megabars where people cram in together with no regard to legal limits. With the Cubs drawing capacity crowds as never before, and with many more people who just want to be where the action is, it's not hard to envision another E2 incident taking place.

"They talk about seating capacity, but that's a joke,'' Brzeski said. "Most bars just take the seats out. I was at one place on Opening Day, and two hours before the game you couldn't move. That's not good. Wait until it gets hot and people are lying all over each other and you can see the sweat pouring off their faces. They tend to get real cranky then.''

What the Cubs and the city need to be thinking about, Brzeski said, are ways to encourage people to move out of Wrigleyville at a steady pace after games. Both parties need to understand times have changed and the frenzy that existed around the ballpark after playoff games last year is now the norm.

Closing the streets closest to Wrigley Field to cars afterward -- it was the mixture of vehicles and pedestrians that led to Hernandez's death -- would certainly be the place to start. Brzeski says he'd allow buses and cabs within a two-block radius of the ballpark, but I wonder if that wouldn't just impede foot traffic and make it harder to get away.

Strict enforcement of the occupancy laws in Wrigleyville bars is another idea that sounds like a no-brainer. So does making sure underage drinking doesn't occur and instituting alcohol-awareness training for all service personnel in bars and restaurants.

Brzeski would close all bars and restaurants at midnight, and I'm for that, although his idea of not allowing them to open until two hours before game time may be unworkable. It would surely raise howls of protest from their owners, but some steps could be taken to limit pregame consumption.

For instance, one bar near the park I checked Sunday -- I'm going to do it the favor of not mentioning the name because I doubt it's the only offender -- offers groups two-hour parties featuring all the beer they can drink before and after games.

A larger police presence seems mandatory, and Brzeski suggests following the lead of some eastern cities that have set up temporary courts to process out-of-control fans. Nothing like the sight of a judge to sober them up in a hurry.

As for the Cubs, one thing they can do is let people out of Wrigley Field in an orderly fashion when the game is over. As of now, there are only four exits from the ballpark, which leads to long, frustrating waits that fray tempers and impede progress. More portable toilets inside and outside the ballpark would help, too.

What the Cubs and the city need to understand is that they are dealing with a set of circumstances they have never faced before. The explosion of interest in the team, combined with the increased number of places looking to serve drinks to those crowding into the neighborhood, has turned the aftermath of every game into a scene worthy of the postseason.

It's time to start treating it as such.