Liquor licensees in the Land of Lincoln just got a tech upgrade from the state's booze board. The Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC) unveiled a nifty online tool that lets drink-slingers book their own Pre-Disciplinary Conferences without the old snail-mail headache. No more waiting for a date with the law to know when you can argue your case. Now, with a few clicks on the ILCC website, bar owners can pick their poison: face-to-face meetings in Chicago or Springfield offices, or digital chats over video.

This new scheduling system is part of a larger effort to drag the ILCC's dusty bureaucracy into the 21st century. As reported early Thursday by the commission's own website, before this, getting a conference on the books was a bit of a lottery, with unpredictable wait times hanging over licensees like a storm cloud at an outdoor wedding. But now, licensees just buzz through the online form. The system is a big win for convenience, but it's also meant to keep the wheels of justice spinning faster and smoother — so everyone can get back to business as usual.

It's a digital lifeline for the industry, tossed into the sea of red tape that often chokes out small businesses. "The ILCC has been working diligently to make our agency and its processes more efficient for our licensees," Illinois Liquor Control Commission Executive Director Lisa Gardner was quoted on the state's official website. "The time and effort that it has taken to create new ways to better serve the public is a testament to the great teamwork and innovative thinking from the entire staff. These changes will help the agency continue to provide great service for years to come."

Gardner's message of modernization and teamwork casts the ILCC in the light of a reformation-era institution, committed to shaking off old habits. The clunky, old ways of setting a date with bureaucracy were nipped in the bud when they launched the online request system, according to the state's announcement.