Cook County tax official Samantha Steele not guilty in drunken driving case

A Cook County tax official was acquitted of drunken driving Tuesday after a two-day trial that focused on a November 2024 crash in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood and the police response.

Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele was arrested after her car collided with a parked vehicle in the 5000 block of North Ashland Avenue, according to Chicago police records and body camera footage.

Officers found an open bottle of wine in Steele’s car, but she never submitted to field sobriety or lab tests, according to records and testimony.

Cook County Judge Donald Suriano handed down the not guilty verdict after finding the evidence in the case only amounted to “suspicion of intoxication.” After the decision, Steele attorney John Fotopoulos told reporters that “justice prevailed.”

In body camera footage, Steele repeatedly told officers she was an elected official and refused to cooperate with them. She also made disrespectful comments to one officer about his genitals, records show.

Steele’s one term on the board has been marred by controversies. On top of the DUI arrest, Steele was involved in disputes with two other Board of Review commissioners, the county’s inspector general and some of her own former aides, including over the valuation of the former Arlington Park site in Arlington Heights.

Steele lost the Democratic primary in March to longtime party operative Liz Nicholson.

To read the full report, visit chicago.suntimes.com.