West Side alderman charged with DUI

A Chicago alderman has been charged with drunken driving after allegedly causing a disturbance at the scene of a fatal fire.

Chicago police officer Laura Kubiak said officers were blocking traffic with their squad cars to make way for fire equipment early Wednesday when Alderman Sharon Dixon arrived and demanded that they move.

Kubiak says Dixon refused to move her own car when officers asked and was charged with obstruction of traffic and operating a vehicle without proof of insurance.

The DUI charge came after Dixon approached officers again and they smelled alcohol on her breath.

It was not immediately clear whether Dixon has an attorney. Calls placed to the numbers listed at her home address were not answered Wednesday, and a message left at her ward office was not immediately returned.