State trooper admits to DUI while on duty

An Illinois State Trooper has been sentenced to a year of court supervision after pleading guilty to a DUI while on duty in August 2015, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Paul A. Zurn, 34, was responding to an Aug. 22 traffic accident in the westbound lanes of I-88 near Farnsworth Avenue, near Aurora. Other troopers at the scene said he was unsteady on his feet and a bottle containing alcohol was found in Zurn's squad car, according to Kane County prosecutors.

Zurn refused to submit to a portable breath test or field sobriety tests. He also refused to submit to a breath test, prosecutors said.

As a result of that refusal, Zurn's driver's license will be suspended for a year.

Under the guilty plea accepted Monday by Kane County Associate Judge Robert Morrow, Zurn must attend a DUI victim impact panel, undergo alcohol treatment and pay $2,185 in costs and fines, according to prosecutors and court records. The charge of transportation of open alcohol was dismissed as part of the guilty plea.

State police officials are conducting their own investigation, said Master Sgt. Jason Bradley, who also said he could not detail Zurn's employment status.

A message left Tuesday with defense attorney Eric Telander was not immediately returned.

In court records, Zurn's address is listed as 2700 W. Ogden Ave., Downers Grove, which is the state police District 15 headquarters.