Eye on DUI cases

I am responding to the article in Monday's Daily Herald titled "Trials Jump in McHenry County."

Over the past year Court Watchers from the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) have been monitoring the McHenry Court House as part of a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Illinois is ranked fourth in the nation for repeat offenders of DUI's and IDOT has asked AAIM to investigate the judicial process to determine how we can reduce the number of repeat offenders.

We believe that Lou Bianchi and his staff are taking the right approach to solving this problem.

As long as DUI charges are reduced down to minor offenses, which is quite often by the local prosecutors, the public will not treat them as the life-threatening occurrences that they are.

We need others to join the state's attorney and take a hard stand on this issue, treat DUIs with the seriousness that they deserve, and prosecute these drunk drivers to the full extent of the law which indeed is in the best interest of justice. Driving a car is a privilege, not a right, and public safety demands that those that abuse this privilege should suffer the consequences of their irresponsible actions.

Cathy Stanley

Court Watch Director

Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists

Schaumburg