DUI charges against ex-Bear QB Bob Avellini refiled

Prosecutors have pulled their own version of a quarterback sneak on former Chicago Bears QB Bob Avellini.

Authorities were forced to drop the 55-year-old Roselle man's latest drunken driving arrest on a legal technicality last month after the arresting police officer, who now lives out of state, was unable to make it to court.

But Avellini is due back in court next week after a Wheaton city prosecutor refiled the charge for Avellini's DUI arrest in summer, 2007.

That marked Avellini's fourth DUI since 2002 in DuPage County. However, he's managed to rack up a favorable won-loss record in court. Avellini was convicted of DUI the first time in Burr Ridge when he had a .16 blood-alcohol level, twice the legal limit of .08. At the time, a court evaluator determined him to be a "moderate risk" to re-offend.

His next two arrests, in Wood Dale and Downers Grove, were dropped for lack of evidence after Avellini refused to submit to tests. Most recently, Avellini was arrested just after midnight June 15, 2007, after a police officer alleged the motorist's car swerved into another lane as it headed west on Roosevelt Road near Naperville Road.

At one point, the officer wrote in a ticket that Avellini nearly ran through a flashing red light at Liberty Avenue and Main Street, but stopped in the middle of the intersection.

When the officer pulled Avellini over, police said he refused to take a breath test or undergo field sobriety tests.

Avellini spent 10 seasons in the NFL, the majority with the Bears from 1975 to 1984. The native New Yorker finished his career with the New York Jets, retiring in 1984 with a 23-27 record as a starter.

He is scheduled to appear Jan. 14 before DuPage Associate Judge Daniel Guerin.