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A limo driver is feeling the ire of a group of Highland Park parents after he called the cops on their teenagers two weekends ago. Leonel Cesar, a driver for Any Time Limo based out of Addison, was hired by a group of 20 teens to drive a "party bus" to downtown Chicago for dinner after their homecoming dance at Highland Park High School. One of the teens asked Cesar to make a stop at his house, and when the boy got back on he was holding a brown bag. When Cesar inquired as to what was in the bag, the boy replied it was none of his business and "Don't worry, you'll be tipped." Cesar decided it was his business, and tried to call the kid's parents. (Life lesson of the day: actual cash works better than promises.) When contacting them failed, he decided to take the extra step and get the police involved.
Thirteen of the teens were busted for underage drinking, and have also been temporarily suspended from any school activities, including athletics. Perpetuating the spoiled rich kid stereotype, this enraged some parents who think their kids shouldn't take responsibility for their actions, the limo should be a "safe haven," and are even threatening lawsuits -- which is ridiculous. Cesar was merely enforcing the companies "no drinking, no smoking, no sex" rule, and when you're responsible for the safety of almost two dozen underage kids, erring on the side of caution isn't a bad thing. Besides, if something had happened to one of those drunk kids, you can guarantee that we would then be talking a lawsuit with some actual merit, as well as possible criminal charges. [Trib, WBBM, UPI]
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This man is my hero today.
Those punks were not just breaking the law, they were putting his license and livelihood at risk doing it.
I hope DCFS is reading this. Letting your kids get tanked in a limo does not speak to responsible parenting.
Any Time Limo is gonna get my business...if I ever need it.
GO CESAR!!! Absolutely the right thing to do!
As sad as it sounds, this sort of behaviour (along with parents who think that everyone should be held accountable except for "their little angels" and will sue the turds out of your ass to prove that point) isn't exactly atypical on the North Shore.
If some sort of tragedy happened as a result of these kids getting trashed, these same parents would be suing the limo driver and service for allowing them to drink in the vehicle. Go figure.
The last high school dance my son went to (and I say last because he won't even go to dances anymore), the school wouldn't even put out refreshments for fear of the punch bowl getting spiked.
So, you have hundreds and hundreds of kids squashed into an auditorium, dancing and sweating and NO drinks allowed.
I guess it's a right of passage to sneak alcohol, I don't blame the kids for trying...what makes my hackles go on edge are the parents who stand behind their precious brats. Is there anything off limits to these kids? How in the hell is this teaching them right from wrong?
I got caught skipping classes in high school and I complained to my dad about having to serve a penalty hall and he just laughed and said that if I broke the law then I deserve the punishment. My dad was a simple, uneducated and poor man...but he could sure give these parents a lesson. (In my dad's day, when he got punished at school for doing something wrong, he'd get punished AGAIN at home).
Sue the limo company indeed. How ludicrous.
We are living in an age of entitlements...these kind of spoiled children make up the world we live in and we have to deal with them on a daily basis. We have to constantly deal with adult spoiled brats who think that the world owes them everything they want.
Go Cesar!
Some people's sense of entitlement is actually pretty amazing. Cesar is the man!
Totally agreed Ingrid. Kids will be kids and kids try to do stupid things like this. I know I did when I was younger. But I also know if my parents ever caught me what they would have done to me would probably have been worse than whatever the cops had doled out. What's wrong with these parents that seem to think its okay for their kids to act like this? I know some of these people whose parents raised them this way who are young adults now and they are some of the most arrogant, worthless people I've ever met. Makes you wonder what the future has in store.
I wonder if these people actually expected sympathy for their poor, persecuted little babies?
I could not agree more with the people who point out, these families would be the FIRST to sue the limo company if their kids were drinking and something happened (hell, even if it didn't). The driver was not only doing the right thing, he was also protecting himself. Good for him, I hope his employer stands behind him.
Cesar absoultley did the right thing. For the parents even to say lawsuit shows how silly some people are. He could of easily saved a life or some girl from an assault.
I should have mentioned this in the post -- Any Time is 100% supporting their driver's decision:
If I'm the limo driver and I get sued by these entitled shitheads, I countersue for the time, money and energy exerted defending himself from this nonsense.
If I ever need a limo service, Any Time will definitely have my business!
If a limo service called my parents when I was a teen and told my mom that I was engaging in underage drinking, she would have kicked a hole in my ass and grounded me until the following year. When did "discipline your child" change to "let your kid do whatever the hell he wants to and bail them out and sue people when they get in trouble with the law?"
These parents are shameful. I still remember last year when those kids got drunk and came to Chicago and one of them fell to her death from a skylight of a building that they were trespassing on to begin with. Her parents were trying to sue the building owner because they felt like the skylight should have supported her weight or some other such nonsense.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/wealthy_teen_nearly_experiences
I so want these parents to try and sue.
Judge: So you want damages because your minor children were breaking the law and this man, after attempting and failing to contract you, alerted the police?
Parents: Yes your honor.
Judge: Bailiff, prep the gallows.
Cesar FTW!!! If any of these parents that are threatening to so, I implore you to call me before doing so... you're going to need some practice having your face laughed in before the judge does it.
I totally side with the parents here. It's their God-given right as Americans to be able to sue. They feel their children have been wronged. The limo driver should have just drove the limo and accept the fact that children are going to drink. What were they supposed to do? Their only other option would have been to drive drunk, therefore the limo company supports drunken teenage driving!
I'm kidding. I'm just glad that I haven't seen anybody siding with the parents, and just wanted to shake things up a bit! Rich suburban spoiled brats and the parents who protect them from having to face any responsibility or be accountable for their actions receive no sympathy from me. I really hope any suit filed gets tossed out with no opinion, and somehow the parents actions come back to bite them in the ass. If this were a Disney movie, that would surely happen.
And right on BW, I read that the other day, how perfectly that sums up this situation. We should nail that article to the parents doors.
If flashback sitcom episodes have taught us anything, it's that there are 3 sides to every story, ladies and gents.
Was good old Cesar doing his civic duty to curb irresponsible underage drinking? Perhaps Cesar would have liked his money upfront (as the article suggests)?
After all, it's just like those north shore parents to defend their children in the face of legal damaging action. They sound like bastard parents to me. Man, I wish I had parents that never defended me and let me rot in jail so I could learn my lesson...
I am in agreement with the comments on this board, I think it's the parents' responsibility to know what their kids are up to and if they don't, then at least answer your phones on a night where your kids are out and up to who knows what ...that said, I have to ask: why didn't the driver just refuse service? I KNOW it's not his responsibility I really do agree w/that. But I'm just asking the question. Why didn't he just not allow said kid(s) with alcohol in his limo and refuse to move an inch until they got out/parents came, etc etc? Again, I'm not in favor of these kids or irresponsible parenting but I do wonder if the police had to be involved .... thoughts?
I don't get it Albany - cops are crossing the line on the South and West sides by arresting kids for non-violent drug offenses, but these punks deserve what they get for breaking the law? That's different I guess.
Jimbo,
For one thing, these kids were actually witnessed breaking the law by a non-cop. Similarly situated kids on the South and West sides also should get what they deserve.
Besides, the "you'll get tipped" is such a rude, condescending thing for *any* high school kid to say to *any* adult that it is hard to sympathize with these morons, or the people who raised them to speak that way to people.
@Jimbo:
You really comparing a high schooler from Highland Park in a $500 dollar an hour limo getting popped after being warned to a kid getting rounded up for being a "known associate" or just being near drug-dealers?
That's not apples and oranged. It's apples and toasters.