Bars, students gear up for ‘Black Wednesday’

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Large crowds lined up outside Jimmy's Grill in Naperville during "Black Wednesday" festivities in 2009. | Sun-Times file photo

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Updated: December 23, 2011 8:02AM

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Try Black Friday.

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Black Wednesday is your night.

The night before Thanksgiving is officially its own big night out, complete with its own name, drink specials and, at a few select local establishments, fried turkey testicles.

Bar owners, particularly in the suburbs, say the Black Wednesday crowds rival and in some cases exceed those partying on New Year’s Eve or St. Patrick’s Day.

“It tends to be our biggest night of the year,” said Brian Baker, general manager of Cadillac Ranch, a 33,000-square-foot country-themed bar in northwest suburban Bartlett. “It’s the one day out of the year almost no one has to work the next day. It gives the most people the most opportunity to go out.”

Sometimes called Blackout Wednesday, the night out is a tradition for many students home from college who have only a long weekend to jam in time with family and friends before heading back to campus.

“Somebody will black out that night,” predicted Corey Svoboda, general manager of Division Ale House, where wings, whiskey and Guinness will be specially priced. Svoboda and other Chicago bar owners said while Black Wednesday is busier than a typical Wednesday night, the suburban bars see the most action.

“More people are at home, visiting family and in the ’burbs,” he said.

Derek Lewis, 25, a Columbia College senior from Lansing, Mich., has made Black Wednesday part of his holiday tradition since turning 21.

“I’m going back Wednesday, dropping my stuff off at my parents’ and I’m going straight to the bar in East Lansing where all my friends are going to be,” Lewis said. “I have some close friends I don’t get to see a lot. It’s an important part of Thanksgiving.”

While Lewis will either be walking or taking a cab, local police are keeping an eye out for drunken drivers. Bar owners received a letter from the Tinley Park mayor and interim police chief asking them to be careful not to overserve patrons. In Tinley Park and Orland Park, extra officers will be on patrol.

“It’s like daytime at 3 in the morning,” said Orland Park Commander Tom Kenealy. “Everybody’s out driving around.”

In Illinois in 2010, 743 people were injured and 15 were killed in 2,780 alcohol-related crashes between Wednesday and Sunday of the Thanksgiving holiday, said Rita Kreslin, deputy director of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists. Over the three-day Christmas 2010 weekend, there were 3,034 alcohol-related crashes where 802 people were injured and 9 were killed.

“I think people tend to worry about [Black Wednesday] more because it seems to attract the younger group,” Kreslin said. “College kids are coming home and you hope they are old enough to be drinking and making good decisions.”

A spokeswoman at Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication said there was no significant increase in emergency calls in the city on the night before Thanksgiving for the past several years. Officers at a number of suburban police departments said while police are aware of the parties, they aren’t typically making more arrests.

“We just have regular staffing,” said Schaumburg Sgt. John Nebl. “If we realized there was a problem we would be addressing it. Things like Fourth of July, we put extra officers out, and sometimes New Year’s Eve. But the night before Thanksgiving? No.”

Prowling around downtown Naperville bars at 3 a.m. during 2010’s Black Wednesday was Naperville Mayor George Pradel, who had pushed to allow bars to close an hour later to accommodate the crowds. The city council said no, but he wanted to check out the scene for himself.

Despite a number of arrests for driving under the influence and disorderly conduct, Pradel claims, the night was more mild than wild.

“They were having a good time and laughing and just enjoying each other,” Pradel said. “It was orderly, just all the kids who were home from school.”

Naperville Sgt. Greg Bell confirmed that there wasn’t a spike in arrests the day before Thanksgiving.

“There’s activity that comes out of our downtown every weekend,” he said. “Having a nightlife, you’re going to have some disturbances here and there, and a lot of times it’s quelled by the time the police get there.”