Sixth DUI charge earns driver six years

An Arlington Heights man was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to his sixth citation for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Steven N. Salzman, 44, man was arrested in February and charged with DUI for the sixth time since 1983 after he ran a traffic light in downtown Arlington Heights.

Also on Thursday, Salzman pleaded guilty to driving without a license, which had been revoked because of prior DUI convictions.

Salzman has been cited 10 times since 1986 for driving without a valid driver's license.

In total, his criminal record is 42 pages long, police said.

Upon sentencing, Salzman said to the court, "I'm very sorry this happened, and I'll do everything in my power not to have it happen again."

Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas Fecarotta said he was "dumbfounded even by the statement," and admonished Salzman that it was wholly within his power not to drink and drive.

"Are you going to wait until you kill someone?" Fecarotta said, and then recommended that Salzman receive alcohol abuse treatment in prison.

Since 1983, Salzman has been arrested 38 times and convicted 22 of those times for a variety of offenses including battery and disorderly conduct, police said. His sentences ranged from probation to two years in prison, police said.