Mundelein Trustee Grieco facing DUI charge
A Mundelein trustee is scheduled to appear in court Friday to face a drunken driving charge.
Jennifer M. Grieco, 47, was arrested Sept. 3 after a two-vehicle collision in Libertyville, police reports state.
Grieco was driving a white 2019 Alfa Romeo sedan shortly before 3 p.m. when it collided with a black 2012 Ford sedan on West Park Avenue near North Dymond Road, documents indicate.
The driver of the Ford told police he was stopped on Route 176 headed west when Grieco’s car struck his from behind, according to a Libertyville police report acquired under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
Grieco’s breath smelled strongly of alcohol and she “appeared to be slurring her words, was unsteady while standing and had bloodshot glossy eyes,” the responding officer reported.
Grieco told the responding officer she hadn’t been drinking that day. According to the officer’s report, she subsequently failed to complete sobriety tests as instructed. Video from the officer’s body camera, also reviewed under the Freedom of Information Act, shows Grieco struggling to follow the officer’s directions.
Once arrested, Grieco told the officer she “was probably under the influence” hours before the crash, the report states.
Grieco was taken to the Libertyville police station, where she refused to give a breath sample for an alcohol level test, police said. She was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol and her driver’s license was confiscated.
A virtual court hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday.
Grieco on Tuesday said she told her fellow board members about the arrest “days after” it happened. She declined to comment on the case and said her focus “remains on serving our community with integrity, transparency, and dedication.”
She was elected to a four-year term on the village board earlier this year.
Village Administrator Eric Guenther on Tuesday said he’d been informed of Grieco’s arrest the day it happened. The crash wasn’t connected to village business, he said in a prepared statement.
“While the Village recognizes the seriousness of the situation and the concerns it raises, the matter is a personal legal issue in which the Village is not involved. Accordingly, the Village will have no further comment at this time,” the statement reads.
The board and administration remain committed to carrying out village business “in a professional, responsible manner worthy of our residents’ trust,” the statement concludes.