County to Draw Blood When Illinois DUI Suspected

Suburban Chicago county to require involuntary blood sample when a motorist is suspected of drunk driving.

Kane County, northwest of Chicago, is planning to implement ‘No Refusal Weekend’ during which any motorist stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence in Illinois must provide a blood sample.

Illinois has an implied consent law under which a motorist agrees to submit to a breath, blood and urine tests when issued a driver’s license. Illinois DUI defense attorneys argue that it is against a person’s constitutional rights to provide incriminating evidence and that a person arrested for a criminal act has the right to a legal counsel before talking with police and providing information or evidence. Defense attorneys routinely instruct suspected drunk drivers in the Chicago area to not submit to a blood-alcohol test.

It is that defense position that led the Kane county state’s attorney to implement the no refusal program. Search warrants will be pre-written and available to St. Charles, Batavia and Geneva police departments, along with county law enforcement. Officers simply have to fill in specifics, have an assistant DA review the warrant and have a judge sign it. The Geneva police headquarters will be used as a command center for the program and county health department has agreed to provide phlebotomists to draw the blood sample.

It is estimated that it will take 90 minutes to implement the warrant and process a suspected drunk driver. The county state’s attorney thinks the evidence gathered through the program will increase the number of Illinois DUI defendants pleading guilty or accepting plea bargains rather than going to trial.

It is estimated that the ‘No Refusal Weekend’ will cost the county $9,000, paid for by the Kane County DUI Task Force. The county will not divulge what weekend will be designated for the program.

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