Police threaten drunken drivers with vehicle seizure
Drunken drivers in Illinois may find themselves not only without a license, but without a car, authorities said Tuesday.
Area law enforcement officials gathered just outside Safety Town in Naperville to remind motorists not to drink and drive.
"The Fourth of July weekend is coming up. It's a terrible weekend for this type of behavior," DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett said. "There are a lot more people on the roadways and unfortunately too many people drinking and driving."
Illinois law allows police to seize vehicles used in committing 48 different felonies, including repeat DUI offenses.
So far this year, Birkett's office has filed 418 seizures. Of these, 64 percent involved motorists driving with licenses that had been revoked or suspended for prior alcohol-related offenses, 29 percent were DUIs and 7 percent involved non-traffic related offenses.
"We look at every one of these seizures as the opportunity we had to remove the vehicle from somebody who has been convicted, generally of a drunk driving offense, and one more opportunity to remove a dangerous driver from the highway and potentially save a life," said Illinois State Police District 2 Cmdr. Jeffrey Hedrich.
Birkett said arresting drunken drivers hasn't been enough to curb the offenders but there has been a low rate of recidivism for those whose vehicles have been seized.
His office has closed 394 seizure cases this year, some of which were opened over the past couple years. Roughly 66 percent resulted in the vehicle being awarded to the seizing agency, while the vehicle went to the lienholder about 22 percent of the time. Vehicle owners only got their cars back about 10 percent of the time.
In Naperville, 78 cars have been seized so far this year. Police Chief David Dial warned that while he hopes many people come out to Ribfest this weekend to enjoy the holiday, police will be watching for drunken drivers.
"We will take your car," he said. "We'll do what we can to keep these roads safer."