A respected community leader is facing potentially damning charges after being arrested earlier this month. Illinois State Police have charged the man, a chairman of a college board of trustees, with drunk driving. He will be appearing in court later this month.
Police say they pulled the man over around 1 a.m. for speeding. They allege he was traveling approximately 59 miles per hour in a 45 zone. Upon pulling the man over, police began to suspect that he may be intoxicated as the trooper on scene alleged that he smelled alcohol on the man’s breath.
Police reports indicate the man was subjected to a roadside sobriety test, which the attending officer says he failed. He was arrested on site and charged with drunk driving. He was transported to a local jail where he was offered and declined a Breathalyzer test. It is unknown if further steps were taken to verify the man’s intoxicated state.
While it is important for Illinois residents to know that everyone, regardless of community status, is subject to the rule of law, it would be unfair to bring additional scrutiny on this individual due to his leadership role. He, like all others, is innocent until proven guilty, and the burden will rest with the prosecution to prove the validity of the drunk driving charges. It may benefit a defense to scrutinize the arrest record to ensure the man’s rights were observed throughout the process, and it may also be helpful to determine whether or not the man was empirically proven to be over the legal limit at any time throughout that process.
Source: rrstar.com, “RVC board chairman cited for DUI,” July 16, 2013