Last Updated: September 14, 2026

Illinois’ Dram Shop Act, 235 ILCS 5/6-21, lets anyone injured by an intoxicated person sue the licensed seller whose drinks caused the intoxication. The lawsuit must be filed within one year, and recovery is capped at amounts the Comptroller publishes yearly. Separately, 740 ILCS 58/5 allows a claim against an adult who willfully supplies alcohol to someone under 18.

Describing Illinois’ Dram Shop Law

After a crash with a drunk driver, the driver’s insurance may fall short of the medical care, the lost income and the lasting harm. Illinois’ Dram Shop Act gives injured people a second claim in the right case. It is a claim against the licensed business whose sale or gift of alcohol caused the intoxication that led to the injury, and in some cases against the owner of the building who knowingly allowed the sales there.

Illinois’ Dram Shop Act is found at 235 ILCS 5/6-21. It is a specific statute that creates a specific claim, with its own rules, its own damages categories and a one-year filing deadline. If an intoxicated person injured you in or near Peoria, whether that person was driving, acting violently or causing harm some other way, the sections below explain how the Act works and what to do first.

What the Illinois Dram Shop Act does

At a basic level, the Dram Shop Act gives an injured person a right of action against certain alcohol providers when the provider’s sale or gift of alcohol “causes the intoxication” of the person who then causes the injury. The statute can apply to injuries to a person, injuries to property, and certain family losses tied to injury or death.

A dram shop claim can be brought alongside a separate personal injury claim against the intoxicated person, for example the drunk driver. It adds a second defendant, the seller, whose responsibility is governed by the Act’s own rules and dollar limits.

Who can be held liable under 235 ILCS 5/6-21

Licensed businesses that sell or provide alcohol

Licensed sellers are the defendants the Act is written for: bars, restaurants, nightclubs and liquor stores, the businesses licensed to sell alcoholic liquor. If the business sold or gave alcohol that caused the intoxication of the person who caused the injury, the business is a proper defendant under the Act. “Caused” here means the drinks were a real and substantial part of getting that person drunk.

Owners and lessors of the premises

Illinois’ statute can also reach certain owners, lessors, or people who permit occupation of a building or premises with knowledge that alcoholic liquor is being sold there. In other words, liability may extend beyond the bar or restaurant itself to certain property interests tied to the sale of alcohol, depending on the facts and the relationship to the premises.

Special rule involving hotel or motel rooms and underage drinking

The statute also includes a specific provision that can create liability for a person at least 21 years old who pays for a hotel or motel room knowing it will be used for unlawful consumption of alcohol by someone under 21, if that unlawful consumption causes intoxication and leads to injury. This is less common than the traditional bar/restaurant scenario, but it is an important tool in certain underage injury cases.

Who generally cannot recover

The Act is designed to protect the public from harm caused by intoxication. It does not create a cause of action for the intoxicated person’s own injuries or property damage, and it does not allow the intoxicated person (or someone claiming through the intoxicated person) to recover for loss of support or society under the Act.

What plaintiffs must prove in a dram shop claim

Dram shop claims are proof-driven. While every case turns on its facts, the claim typically centers on several core issues:

The defendant is a proper dram shop defendant under the statute (for example, a licensed seller or a qualifying premises owner/lessor).
The defendant sold or gave alcoholic liquor that caused the intoxication of the person who later caused the harm, meaning the drinks were a real and substantial part of getting that person drunk.
The intoxicated person caused injury to the plaintiff’s person or property, or caused qualifying loss of support or loss of society.
The damages sought fit within the statute’s categories and are proven with evidence.

The statute’s test is causation. Illinois’ statute asks whether the sale or gift “causes the intoxication,” and the courts read that word to mean a real and substantial part of getting the person drunk. You do not have to prove the bar was careless, but you do have to prove the drinks caused the intoxication, and the defense may contest timing, amount consumed and where else the person drank. Early investigation, pinning down where the intoxicated person was drinking, when they were there and what was served, can answer those arguments.

It also matters to act quickly because dram shop evidence can disappear fast. Receipts, point-of-sale records, surveillance video, and witness memories are often time-limited. A strong claim usually involves building a timeline: where the person drank, what they consumed, when they left, and how the intoxication played into the crash or incident that hurt you.

Damages available under the Dram Shop Act

The Dram Shop Act allows recovery for specific types of harm, and it limits how much can be recovered from the seller regardless of the severity of the injury. The limits adjust every January 20 for the prior year’s change in the consumer price index, and the Illinois Comptroller publishes the new figures by January 31. The limits in effect when a judgment or settlement is awarded are the ones that apply. For judgments or settlements awarded on or after January 20, 2026, the limits published by the Illinois Comptroller are:

Personal injury and property damage

$90,411.55 for injury to the person or property of each person injured.

Loss of means of support or loss of society

$110,503.00 for either loss of means of support or loss of society resulting from the death or injury of a person, shared by everyone claiming through that person. A spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters may claim one or the other, not both.

If a drunk driver hurt you in a car accident, Peoria personal injury lawyer Robert Parker reviews the coverage available from the driver and from the seller and prepares both claims for settlement or suit. Call 309-673-0069 for a free consultation.

Need a lawyer? This article is part of our Peoria Premises Liability Lawyer practice area. Call Parker & Parker at 309-673-0069 for a free consultation.

Describing Illinois’ dram shop law