Elgin to consider prosecuting its own DUI cases

Elgin may become the latest municipality to take advantage of the ability to prosecute its own DUI cases.

Corporation Counsel William Cogley said the new practice would apply only to certain instances where people are charged with driving under the influence — usually first-time offenses and cases where there are no injuries.

Algonquin, Lake in the Hills and Woodstock are a few of the McHenry County municipalities to prosecute their own DUI cases. Naperville, Wheaton and West Chicago do the same in DuPage County.

“It's more advantageous from a revenue standpoint,” Cogley said. “You prosecute the cases yourself and derive the revenues.”

Cogley expects the city to recover up to $600 in additional revenue per case. Annual revenue should reach about $230,000 with a portion of that going to pay outside prosecutors.

Cogley is recommending city council members adopt a new DUI statute in the municipal code to allow for the in-house prosecution and also work with Michelle Moore and Kim DiGiovanni, partners of a Wheaton-based law firm. The city issued a request for proposals last fall and Moore and DiGiovanni rose to the top of the applicant pool.

Their firm offered to waive the fee for the first three months of work but will be paid $4,000 per month thereafter. Cogley estimated their services would be needed one day per week to handle the approximately 400 eligible DUIs each year.

If council members approve the switch, Elgin could take over prosecution by June 1. Cases will still be heard by judges in the Kane County Circuit Court. The process will look exactly the same to defendants. But Elgin will get the profits from prosecution instead of states attorneys.

“It's something that has been a common practice in a couple other counties,” Cogley said. “In the Kane County Circuit Court, it's just not something that communities have pursued.”

St. Charles was the first Kane County municipality to start prosecuting its own cases. Cogley said the city has been monitoring its efforts the last year and a half before proposing action.

Council members will vote on preliminary approval of the change during the committee of the whole meeting Wednesday with formal adoption coming at the following council meeting. If it is approved, Elgin will need to coordinate with the Kane County chief judge and make sure police officers are clear on the new citations.