THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2008
Roadside Checks Keep Streets Safe During Holidays
For many Americans, St. Patrick's Day has become a popular night out to celebrate with friends and family.
However, numerous police departments agree the night out is becoming dangerous due to a "large" amount of impaired drivers.
That's why Mt. Prospect Police Chief John Dahlberg, along with other local police departments, authorized saturation DUI patrols focusing on impaired driving enforcement last weekend.
According to Crime Prevention Officer Dirk Ollech, between 8 p.m. last Friday and 4 a.m. Saturday, there were five DUI arrests.
Of those five, one was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, one was charged with possession of cannabis and driving under the influence of a controlled substance, and one for not having a valid driver's license.
In addition to the five DUIs, there were 29 other citations issued that ranged from speeding, to disobeying traffic lights or signals, to vehicle malfunctions.
Police conducted these patrols along major thoroughfares in the village.
In Wheeling, there were a total of 48 citations issued over the weekend. Of those, 18 were for motorists driving without a seatbelt, one was for improper lane usage and five were for other violations.
In addition, there were a total of 10 arrests made by police, eight of them for drivers who either had a suspended driver's license or none at all. The other two were a DUI and an outstanding warrant.
The Arlington Hts. and Elk Grove Village police departments combined efforts this past weekend to keep their roads safe.
A roadside safety check point was conducted by the two departments on Arlington Heights Road Saturday, Mar. 15 at 10:00 p.m. continuing through Sunday, Mar. 16 at 3:00 a.m.
In total, 1,564 cars passed the checkpoint with 454 vehicles stopped.
According to Sgt. Andrew Whowell, 76 citations were issued, including one arrest for DUI.
There were also two open liquor charges and nine license violations. There were no felony charges.
The safety check was conducted thanks to a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Illinois Department of Transpiration that designates what holiday weekends need a safety checkpoint. St. Patrick's Day was included in the grant.
According to Whowell, the safety check was conducted by both Arlington Hts. and Elk Grove as a cooperative effort.
The Niles Police Department, along with the Illinois State Police Department, held a safety check from Sunday Mar. 16 at 11:00 p.m. to Monday, Mar. 17 at 4:00 a.m.
The safety check was conducted in front of the Niles Police Station at Milwaukee and Touhy avenues.
According to Sgt. Tom Davis, public information director for the Niles Police Dept., officers in a five-hour span stopped 162 vehicles.
The random stops led to one felony drug possession charge. The accused was in possession of 30 grams of marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia and $175,000.
During the safety check, there was one DUI-alcohol charge, two DUI-suspected drug use charges and one arrest for open alcohol.
There were also 15 charges involving driving without a license or driving on a suspended license. There were also 23 additional charges made for various offenses.
"It was pretty good night," said Davis. "It was above average compared to other safety checks. The arrest on the drug felony is nice. The check was most likely a result of St. Patrick's Day. We try to do a lot safety checks during the holidays when there is a lot of traffic and a lot of suspected drinking."
Des Plaines, Park Ridge Glenview, Prospect Hts. and Palatine did not conduct any special weekend DUI patrols.