Illinois Considers Lowering the Drinking Age; Inside the Long, Complicated History of “21 Plus” in the United States

Illinois may soon lower the drinking age to 18, a move that could signal a national shift as states reclaim drinking laws into their own hands. (Photo: Press Association via AP Images)

Illinois lawmakers have proposed legislation that would lower the state’s minimum drinking age to 18, an unanticipated move that could have wide-ranging effects if successfully passed.

Given the ubiquity of “21 plus” across the country, it may come as a surprise that states can decide their own drinking ages.

As it stands today, there are only a handful of outliers that have tweaked the rules in small ways; 19 states including Texas, Virginia and Ohio allow the “family exception” for at-home or spiritual consumption, while states like Kansas, Oklahoma and South Dakota permit a drinking age of 18 for 3.2% ABV beer.

Illinois’ legislation would take things a step further, allowing 18 to 20-year-olds to consume alcohol at bars and restaurants if accompanied by a parent, guardian or spouse 21 or older.

Understanding how and why Illinois would make this choice requires a brief dive into the complicated history of our nation’s drinking laws.

The Long Road to 21

After Prohibition came to an end in 1933, nearly every state in the U.S. coalesced around a 21 and older drinking age. For decades, that remained the status quo.

But when the national voting age was reduced to 18 in 1972, legislators began to reconsider the guidelines. As teenagers were showing up to the polls and being drafted into the Vietnam War, states turned into a patchwork quilt of 18+, 19+, 20+ and 21+ jurisdictions.

The atmosphere quickly changed once again with the election of President Ronald Reagan.

Reagan’s administration campaigned strongly against the rising number of DUI deaths that were sweeping the nation, a campaign that initially took the form of a strong suggestion rather than a mandate. Reagan even presented Michael Jackson with the Presidential Humanitarian Award in 1984 after “Beat It” was featured in a widely-circulated anti-drunk driving PSA.

Michael Jackson stands with President and Nancy Reagan May 14, 1984 on the south lawn of the White House prior to receiving an award from the president for his contribution to the drunk driving awareness program. (AP Photo/Scott Stewart)

Months after that award, the campaign was codified into law with the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Reagan didn’t have the power to directly affect the drinking age on a national level, so he instead passed legislation that withheld federal highway funding from any state that didn’t raise the age of consumption to 21.

States quickly fell into line, leading to the current era of “21 plus.”

So What Next? 

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act is technically still in effect, but it appears that lawmakers in places like Illinois are willing to gamble that it won’t be enforced.

Though it’s unlikely we’ll see an unconditional lowering of the drinking age anytime soon, states seem increasingly empowered to slide away from the federal legislation of the 1980s in unprecedented ways.

It’s a complicated trajectory, and understandably one that is still hotly contested.

While some argue that a reduced drinking age could help foster a more “regulated environment,”, others point to the myriad of issues related to alcohol consumption and argue that the age could even be raised to 25.

In the years to come, we will see how that debate plays out in states across the country.

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