In Retrospect, the 7th Lunchtime Lemon Martini was a Terrible Idea

By Laura Oppenheimer in Food on Jun 5, 2007 3:39PM

Jane Radostits, the DuPage County prosecutor who was killed when her state-issued car swerved into oncoming traffic may have had as many as eight drinks before driving on May 11, according to a lawsuit filled yesterday on behalf of Michele Lubinski, 36, of West Chicago.
Lubinski, whose left arm and leg were broken in the crash, is seeking damages from Oak Brook's Kona Grill after lab tests revealed Radostits' blood alcohol level to be .25 percent (three times the legal limit in Illinois).

Radostits was drinking on May 11 other DuPage County prosecutors after a bomb threat closed the DuPage County courthouse for several hours. During the four hours the group was at the Kona Grill, Radastits ordered "between four to seven" lemon martinis and one beer.

While we understand that Lubinski legally has the total right to sue under the Illinois DRAM Shop Act, we always find ourselves a little confused after reading about these cases. We believe that bartenders should cut people off when they have had too much to drink. But does four martinis over four hours counts as too much? And how can you tell? Chicagoist has definitely (stop reading now, mom!) been over-served while out drinking, and our bartender seemed more than happy to take our money in exchange for libations. We've also been at a bar where a patron was cut off, and the bartender sent him on his way with a chipper "Have a safe drive home!"

Clearly, drinking and driving is no joking matter. But Chicagoist's question is, how can a bar or restaurant know what to do when a patron is somewhere in between the middle of sober and blitzed, and they have no way to know if the person will be driving? How would Kona Grill have the foresight to know?