Kane County man gets 6 years for 9th DUI

A Kane County man convicted earlier this year of his ninth drunken driving offense was sentenced Friday to six years in prison.

James "J.D." Clark, 59, of Aurora, was the first person in the county prosecuted following a state law change that allowed stiffer punishment for repeat DUI offenders. He was found guilty of aggravated drunken driving in January by Judge Allen M. Anderson, who issued Friday's sentence.

Clark faced up to 30 years but instead received an 80-month term in the Illinois Department of Corrections - or seven months more than the minimum sentence possible.

Assistant State's Attorney Steve Sims, who is chief of the traffic and DUI divisions, had requested Clark be sentenced to 20 to 30 years, calling him a "threat to the public."

"If an average citizen wants to avoid being a victim of crime, there's things they can do," such as avoid crime-ridden areas, Sims said. "On the road, a defendant like J.D. Clark looks like any other car on the road and he can drive anywhere. There's absolutely nothing an average citizen can do to protect themselves."

Clark has been convicted of drunken driving nine times since 1980. Authorities initially said Clark had seven DUI convictions total but two additional convictions came to light as his latest case moved along, Sims said.

Clark was last arrested and charged with DUI in early 2006 in Aurora, becoming the first eligible Kane County defendant prosecuted since the state began allowing sentences typically reserved for murderers, rapists and robbers to those convicted of drunken driving six times or more.

The first such case in DuPage County was concluded in 2006 and also resulted in a six-year sentence, records show.