Erika Scoliere is waiting trial for aggravated Illinois DUI and reckless homicide for a July 2007 accident that killed a motorcyclist. As a condition of bail, she was required to not consume alcohol or be around those who are drinking. Police investigators, however, found photos of Scoliere drinking with friends posted on the social networking site. One was captioned, "Erika passed out in my bed. Ha Ha."

The Assistant State's Attorney told the judge that Scoliere also violated terms of bail by not contacting county court services by phone while at school. Scoliere attends college in Ohio. Despite protests raised by her DUI defense attorney of the social shame brought by the ankle bracelet, the Kane County judge said that Scoliere had "earned the privilege of wearing the SCRAM bracelet." The bracelet detects alcohol through the wearer’s perspiration. The device must be regularly synched via remote access with a central computer database that records violations.

Scoliere, accompanied by her parents, left the courtroom in tears.

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Having a good relationship with the Merit Board is known to enhance a state troopers’ chance of promotion.

The expense of gas and maintenance for the 6.1 liter, 425-horsepower Dodge Charger is borne by the taxpayer. The muscle car is just one of two dozen desirable vehicles seized for criminal offenses, including driving under the influence, in Illinois. Others include an Audi and a Cadillac Escalade.

State police officials refuse to identify the recipients of the seized vehicles, saying it would endanger the officers if the public knew what make and model car they drove.

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The Madison County State's Attorney, William Mudge, later learned that Durr had a 1999 conviction in Missouri for involuntary manslaughter involving alcohol and 1985 judgment on a suspected DUI. Mudge said he would not have entered into the plea agreement with Durr had he known about the prior incidents, and he sought to have the order accepting the plea agreement vacated. A judge did grant the motion to vacate the acceptance order but another judge ruled that the decision did not dispose of the original plea agreement. Durr was given the opportunity to enter his plea again, under the original agreement.

The judge barred an effort by the state to pursue a new charge of drunk driving in Illinois, citing the defendant's right against double jeopardy. Durr's Illinois DUI defense attorney had argued over seven months ago that the 2008 charge was weak, as there was no evidence to prove his client was driving while intoxicated and the video of the arrest did not conclusively indicate impairment.

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The Police Superintendent Jody Weis, who took office last year after two high-profile bar beatings involving police, created a bureau to evaluate officer conduct and increase training, especially when dealing with excessive drinking and alcohol abuse. After the most recent incident of drunk driving by a police officer, Weis made it mandatory for officers to inform the watch commander and internal affairs when a fellow officer is suspected of being intoxicated. There is an interest in implementing random testing of officers though that will require a change in the contract with the union representing the rank and file.

Of the 13 police officers charged with drunk driving in Illinois during 2008, none have yet lost their jobs. 8 cases have been resolved and 5 remain open. The penalties have included suspension with out pay for 20-45 days, reassignment to a desk position and temporary leave. Four DUI arrests were made by Chicago police, three in the Chicago suburbs and six out of state. With a total force of 13,000 officers, the rate for DUI arrest is one per 1000. The U.S. average is one drunk driving arrest for every 155 motorists.

Weis acknowledges that police officers are held to a higher standard, and accepts that the citizens of Chicago have the right to expect the police to protect them from drunk drivers and not be part of the problem.

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The drinking free-for-all draws UI students and alumni, as well as out-of-towners. Partiers have been known to line up at campus bars before 8:00 am, organize private parties and try to take alcohol to classes. Those cited by the police included students from 52 colleges and 2 high schools from twelve states. About one third of the total violations issued were given to University of Illinois students.

Law enforcement for the even was comprised of Illinois State Police, the County Sheriff’s Department, local police departments from the towns of Champaign and Urbana, university police and the Liquor Control Commission. Officers were informed that there would be no days off and the must be prepared to work overtime.

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In one situation, a man was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Illinois only four minutes after being released for driving with a suspended license. He would not have been released on a personal recognizance bond if he were drunk. In the same incident, the motorist had been advised by a desk sergeant not to drive until he had a valid license. While retrieving his coat from his vehicle, Officer Fiorito demanded that he move the car. When he did, Fiorita immediately activated the emergency lights on his squad car.

Fiorito, 60, is the third police officer in the past year to be investigated for falsifying arrests for driving under the influence in Chicago. Officer Joe Parker is currently on desk duty during an investigation into wrongdoing and Officer John Haleas has been charged by Cook County prosecutors with perjury, official misconduct and obstructing justice. Anti-DUI organizations like MADD and Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists have recognized all three of those officers as ‘top-cops’ for making high numbers of Il DUI arrests.

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She then reportedly moved her car, walked up to the patrol car and pulled on the door handle, demanding the officer's badge number. This time the officers detected alcohol on her breath and a sargeant was summonsed. Dixon, 46, admitted to having had several glasses of wine at a party. She was booked on charges of driving under the influence in Illinois at the Belmont District station in the North Side district.

Dixon, a first term alderman, declined to comment on her Illinois DUI arrest when she was released around 9:40 am, simply stating that she will "have her day in court."

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Hanton, 23, was booked for driving under the influence in Illinois, failure to reduce speed, running a stop sign, aggravated battery of a police officer and resisting arrest.

The special camera was from the Homer Township Fire Protection District.

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It is hoped that the unappealing visual will cause motorists to think twice before driving under the influence in Illinois. The "loser" campaign starts on the advent of a new, strict Illinois DUI law. On January 1 anyone convicted of drunk driving in Illinois will be required to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle if they wish to retain their driving privileges. The device disables the vehicle if a breath sample contains alcohol above a pre-set limit. Such an effort to reduce DUI have been gaining favor in states and are being pushed politically by anti-drunk driving advocacy groups. Evidence shows that the overwhelming majority of drivers accused of driving under the influence never repeat the offense. More moderate voices say that focusing on the small percentage of chronic drunk drivers is a more effective way of reducing the problem of drunk driving, and that the effort should include alcohol rehabilitation.

The ad campaign was developed by a Chicago ad agency and it will be distributed via television, radio and on-line.

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The new ‘Tina’s Law’ is seen as a balance between allowing loved ones to memorialize someone while ensuring the safety of other motorists and facilitating regular road maintenance. Relatives can request a marker for any alcohol related driving fatality since January 1, 1990. The cost is $150 for a sign with the slogan ‘Don’t Drink & Drive’. For an additional $50 the sign can be customized with the victim’s name and date of accident. The Illinois Department of Transportation will maintain the signs for two years and then present them to the victim’s or sponsor’s family. Currently there are 25 families on a waiting list for the signs.

On average, Illinois records 500 DUI related highway deaths a year.

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Jacobson, 70, had attended a media party near his home Wednesday evening. Around 10:45 pm a witness called police to report a vehicle swerving and hitting a parked car. The vehicle and driver description, as well as the license plate number, led police to Jacobson. A few minutes later Chicago Police found Jacobson and his 2004 Saab in an alley behind his home. The right front wheel was damaged and the car was inoperable. Jacobson and several other people were outside the vehicle, which was not running; two points Jacobson's Illinois DUI defense attorney plans to use to challenge the arrest.

A breath test reportedly registered a blood alcohol content of .092, above the legal limit for intoxication. Jacobson was charged with misdemeanor Illinois DUI.

Jacobson was charged with drunk driving in Chicago in 2004, though his BAC was slightly below the legal limit and the charges were reduced to negligent driving, obstruction of traffic and running a stop sign. In exchange, he agreed to undergo alcohol abuse evaluation.

Jacobson declined to comment on the recent charge of Illinois drunk driving.

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Around 7:30 pm, McGinnis ran her SUV into the back of a mini-van that was stopped at a traffic light in Tinley Park. No one was injured in the low-speed accident, though the McGinnis was still trying to move her vehicle forward after the collision. The driver of the minivan described McGinnis as having her head on the steering wheel. Other witnesses recalled McGinnis honking her horn and flashing her lights as she weaved through traffic.

Police responding to the scene say that McGinnis appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcohol. She refused to submit to a breath test or perform field sobriety tests. In addition to a charge of suspicion of drunk driving in Chicago, the 47 year old judge was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to provide proof of insurance.

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Chicago policeman John Haleas, 37, was indicted by a grand jury for perjury, obstruction of justice and official misconduct for lying about arrests for driving under the influence in Illinois. The charges are felonies. He reportedly falsely claimed that he had administered field sobriety tests to suspected drunk drivers. In a separate legal issue Haleas has been sued in federal court by one DUI defendant.

When the story first broke last year, the state’s attorney’s office dismissed about 50 cases and began the review of over 500 other cases of Illinois DUI in Chicago. Haleas has been honored three times by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists for compiling the most DUI arrests in Illinois.

Haleas has been suspended from the police force. He has a court appearance on April 25.

If you have been arrested for drunk driving in Cook County, Illinois you will need to hire a Chicago DUI attorney.

Aurora is a passive alcohol sensor that detects alcohol in the air. It resembles a large flashlight and the device can determine alcohol on a motorist’s breath with a 97 percent accuracy rate. The motorist does not have to blow into a tube like conventional breath testing equipment. Conversely, the sensor does not determine a blood alcohol. It only tells a law enforcement officer that alcohol has been detected, at which point a field sobriety test may be requested to determine if the motorist is driving under the influence in Illinois.

In the ruling Judge Allen said that the scientific principles behind Aurora have gained broad acceptance. In the first ever case involving the sensor to result in a conviction for Illinois DUI, Allen found the device’s detection of alcohol was enough probable cause to put a suspected drunk driver through further investigation.

The ruling assures police officers that the use of the sensor will not jeopardize evidence in an Illinois drunk driving case.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Illinois, you will need to hire an Illinois DUI attorney.

Prosecutors now want the breath test results from the internal investigation entered as evidence during Carey’s DUI criminal case.

“There's a man chasing me and he's got a gun!”

Last May Officer Carey, 28, was off-duty when he became part of a road rage incident. Carey tailgated a vehicle that had cut him off in traffic and pointed a gun at the driver. The owner of the other vehicle frantically called 911 for help. When the driver spotted other police officers along the road, he stopped and exclaimed, “There's a man chasing me and he's got a gun!” The officers confirmed in their report that Carey was pointing a weapon at the driver.

Carey dropped his weapon as ordered and then identified himself as a police officer. The other officers detected alcohol on Carey’s breath and noticed that his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot. Carey was taken to a nearby police station and charged with aggravated assault and driving under the influence, both misdemeanors. It was then that he refused a breath test associated with the DUI case. He did, however, submit to a breath test as part of procedure during an investigation of the incident. That sample reportedly registered a blood alcohol content of .145, well above the .08 legal limit for intoxication.

Prosecutors argue that Constitutional search-and-seizure protections don't keep them from using the breath test results, citing there was probable cause to arrest Carey and his consent was not needed to test for alcohol content. The police union counters with the argument that Carey was deceived, thinking the results from the internal investigation would not become evidence during his criminal DUI case.

A Traffic Court Judge recently ruled in Carey’s favor, though the Illinois state's attorney's office is planning an appeal. In the mean time, Carey has been stripped of his police authority and he faces dismissal from the force.