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DuPage nets 70 DUI arrests over Labor Day weekend

DuPage County authorities nabbed about 70 suspected drunk drivers during the Labor Day weekend, including six who refused to blow into a Breathalyzer only to have search warrants issued to draw their blood.

All but one of the six were repeat DUI offenders, officials announced Friday, and at least five had blood drawn by an on-call phlebotomist.

More than 30 police agencies joined forces for the county's first No Refusal weekend, which aimed to curb drivers who refuse breath tests as a strategy to beat driving under the influence raps.

“When you look at the statistics of the Labor Day DUI arrests, there is no denying the positive impact our No Refusal weekend had on the community,” State's Attorney Robert Berlin said.

Drivers arrested on DUI charges who refused Breathalyzer tests were taken to the sheriff's office, where prosecutors were prepared to file and obtain search warrants for their blood from an on-call judge. The operation, which ran overnight Sept. 2 and 3, also involved an on-call phlebotomist.

Berlin's office said police from Bloomingdale, Burr Ridge, Downers Grove, Elmhurst and Illinois State Police District 15 arrested the six motorists who refused breath tests. At least five of those had blood drawn under court order. Whether the sixth opted for a breath test after facing with a search warrant was unclear, officials said.

Authorities said two drivers each had racked up three DUI cases already this year. In another case, police arrested a man on his sixth DUI, although he's been convicted just once before.

“A five-time repeat DUI offender with only one guilty finding on his record is a person who clearly thinks that the DUI laws don't apply to him,” Berlin said. “This is someone who is a clear danger to our community.”

Berlin's office said about 90 percent of the roughly 70 drivers arrested on DUI charges during the holiday weekend agreed to breath tests rather than face a blood draw. On average, about 50 percent of Illinois drivers usually comply, officials said.

The effort was funded through a mix of Illinois Department of Transportation grants through area police agencies, which used the money to beef up patrols. Berlin said his office “will likely organize this type of initiative again in the near future.”

Geneva defense attorney D.J. Tegeler, who has represented three defendants caught up in No Refusal crackdowns in neighboring Kane County, said such operations are “good legal maneuvers” to get motorists' consent, but they also raise Constitutional issues.

If authorities have enough evidence to get a search warrant, he added, they should have enough to get a conviction without forcefully taking a driver's blood.

“What if the next person absolutely refuses a blood draw? Are we actually going to tie citizens down and take needles and plunge them into their bodies to get blood?” Tegeler said. “I really hope not.”

Blood tests for DuPage drivers who refuse Breathalyzer