Findings of Fact: Do Hoosiers have a Voice in the Alcohol Debate?

Project RAD's white paper analysis -- "The Unprecedented Push for Alcohol Sales in Indiana" -- is now posted online for downloads at www.ProjectRAD.com. A limited number of hard-copy prints are also available. You may request multiple copies for your community or organization while supplies last by sending an email to projectradeditor@gmail.com.

• Of 171 Walgreens permit applications filed and reviewed at public hearings by local boards, 79 had no petitions of support or opposition in public files.
• Hoosiers who claimed they did support the new alcohol permits for the out-of-state drug store chain - a total of 15,774 - signed petitions in stores at the direction or request of clerks and employees.
• The number of people statewide who opposed permits totaled 4,176. In some instances neighbors, businesses and community groups gathered their own petitions. In some instances, those opposing the expansion of alcohol sales in their neighborhoods signed the Walgreens in-store petitions objecting to the new alcohol permits.
• More than 21 percent of the people who signed petitions were opposed to new alcohol sales by the Illinois-based drug store retailer. However, less than 2 percent of the Walgreens permits were denied statewide.
• Liquor store owners and employees who remonstrated against 36 separate permits in their local communities were largely ignored. Those who testified that a new Walgreens permit in their area "may affect local businesses" were given little consideration. Each of these permits was approved when liquor store owners remonstrated, even when other individuals or groups were present to object.
• Making a case for a negative economic impact on other existing businesses and the lack of community desire made no difference in the approval of those 36 permits, thus relegating competing businesses to a non-existent class by local boards.

FAQs on "The Unprecedented Push for Alcohol Sales in Indiana"

Why did Project RAD do an unprecedented public records review on this subject?

The Walgreens chain has made news across the country by filing alcohol permits community by community as it changed its corporate policy to begin selling alcohol. Based on the rush to file at the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, Hoosier communities were ill prepared to even participate at local board meetings and digest how these permits would make an impact in their neighborhoods and to local businesses. Project RAD dedicated a large amount of time to this project over the course of nine months, including employing the assistance of public records experts. The results are a review of those thousands of pages.

Who paid for the report?

Project RAD has multiple partners but the time spent on the report was funded by the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers, one of our six statewide partners. Much of the investment was simply made on manpower to track the records requests, organize and review copies, and to send interview requests via email to those that participated. Many advisors to the project included our statewide and community partners listed on the website.

Why should I care about this review?

This is the first large-scale records review done of ATC permit files of a single corporate entity. The report represents the first national analysis of the Walgreens permits as they came to the public forefront in Indiana-and tracked through the hearing process. No such review has been done of this nature or of this detail. The findings are being shared statewide with all subscribers to Project RAD. Lawmakers, community advocates, retailers and more are recipients of the report. What they decide to do with the findings, including lawmakers who are concerned about the permit review process, is up to those individuals.

Will there be follow-up reports?

The Walgreens scenario in Indiana was an unusual one. It merited a closer look on both the policy level and the public participation process. Project RAD has long asserted, as was the case of findings by the statewide needs assessment completed by the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research in August 2008, that retailers, advocates and policy makers all need to be at the same table when it comes to determining the best regulations and outcomes for communities. To that end, we hope this report serves as a standard for thoughtful analysis and discussion. No one should act in a vacuum of solid and reliable information. No one should act without facts.

Why is this report an important assessment to make for the state?