Is it fair to tie an underage drinking conviction to driving, if the drinking was not driving related?

We have a really good kid that works for us in Illinois. He was a passenger in a car when the driver was picked up for DWI/DUI. As he was drinking as well, he faced a 3 month suspension of his driver’s license, on top of about $5–700 in fines.

A week later, he’s at a house party when it’s raided. Another ticket, now facing license suspension until he’s 21, jail time and who knows how much fine.

Yes, we all want to keep drunk drivers off the road. I think his parents drilled that into him, and I don’t think he would drive drunk.

Finally, we’re in a rural area. It’s not a matter of it being an inconvenience taking public transportation like where the lawmakers live. It’s the difference between being able to attend school and holding a job, or not. If he freeloads from 18 to 21, is he magically going to pop out of the box and get back on the tax rolls? NO

If you’ve read all this, then thanks. It weighs on me and I’ve offered assistance with the legal bills.