A large number of repeat offenders in Illinois continue to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, despite stricter laws, the Cook County Daily Herald reported July 16.A Daily Herald investigation found a number of Illinois residents with drunk-driving convictions are allowed to continue to drive. According to the review, about 5,400 people were convicted of driving drunk two or more times between 1996 and 1999, and 11,779 DUI offenders had at least one prior conviction, court supervision or a license suspension for a drunken-driving arrest.
The analysis further found that 20 percent of alcohol-related crash fatalities in Illinois are caused by drivers who have had a drunken-driving arrest within the previous three years. The percentage, however, could be higher than indicated. "So many times in Illinois a person is charged as a first offender over and over again," said Don McNamara, a regional director for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These offenders receive a suspension rather than a conviction that would identify them as repeat offenders. "The Illinois records are such that I don't know that they're a true reflection of the picture," McNamara said.
In the past four years, Illinois has passed 24 drunk-driving laws and increased awareness about the dangers of driving impaired. Yet the Daily Herald statewide investigation found that the legal system is still putting offenders back on the road. "The judges in this state are very weak," said Charlene Chapman, executive director of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists. "It's 'There but for the grace of God go I.'"
Marti Belluschi, the secretary of state's DUI prevention advisor, acknowledged, "Obviously, the sanctions we have in place are not working for everyone. It happens because they have a flagrant disregard for the law, but also because they have a serious alcohol problem that impairs not only their driving, but many other decisions as well."
Chapman's organization lobbies for an intensive probation program rather than prison for chronic DUI offenders. Under the program, offenders would report to probation officers more frequently than normal, submit to random urine tests, complete drunk-driving related community service, and attend Alcoholics Anonymous and other treatment programs.
Patrick McGann, the supervising judge for Cook County's traffic court, said he is working on measures to address some of the court system's problems. He said annual training programs are conducted to encourage judges to take drunken driving seriously.
In addition, a new effort in Cook County is underway to direct drunken drivers into separate programs so they are sentenced and tracked differently depending on their criminal, psychological and addiction histories. "We will have more success with repeat drunk drivers if we treat them based on their history," McGann said.
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