Status of unreported DUI probe in Kane County unclear
It’s been nearly 50 days since Kane County Board members called for a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding more than 1,000 DUI convictions that went unreported to the state.
Despite a public call for a progress report, the Kane County state’s attorney’s office will not say whether it will proceed with an investigation.
There may be a couple of obstacles to such an effort.
“We received the request,” Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said Friday. “However, we do not comment on the status of an existing investigation or any pending or potential investigation.”
The response is standard practice for such investigations.
But that hasn’t stopped officials from asking what’s going on.
County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen requested an update from McMahon’s office at the most recent Judicial and Public Safety Committee meeting of the county board. The committee overseas funding for McMahon’s office.
“That’s a very serious thing to call for a criminal investigation,” Lauzen said. “I would think this committee would like to stay on top of it.”
Lauzen also questioned why the request for an investigation is coming now versus when the problem actually occurred. Former Kane County Circuit Court Clerk Deb Seyller notified state officials of the unreported DUIs before she left office last year. Before that, she indicated problems with the DUI record-keeping during both funding requests for her office and testimony she provided during a lawsuit between her and the county board.
On Friday, Seyller said she’s had no contact from McMahon’s office since board members asked for the investigation in June.
“I can’t seriously think of anything for them to ask about, let alone investigate,” Seyller said.
She’s attributed the unreported DUIs to a faulty case management system in her office.
That system is currently in the process of being replaced.
It’s not clear whether McMahon’s office would even be able to investigate what occurred.
When criminal accusations arose against former Kane County Coroner Chuck West, McMahon recused his office to avoid a conflict of interest.
He recused himself again during the civil litigation that arose against West.
The state’s attorney’s office also bowed out during the lawsuit between Seyller and the county board.
County board members Mark Davoust and Mike Kenyon are officials who’ve asked for the criminal investigation. Davoust said he has not had any response from McMahon’s office, but he would like to know if McMahon has decided not to proceed.
“I will talk to them,” Davoust said. “It probably is about time to find out what’s going on.”