Round Lake Beach man convicted of driving without license 24 times faces felony charge

A Round Lake Beach man with a long record of driving while his license is revoked now faces a felony charge and potential prison time.

Steven Knutson, 61, of the 100 block of South Channel Drive, is facing up to seven years in prison under the latest charge, which was approved by Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim, according to his office on Thursday. According to authorities, he's been convicted of driving while his license was revoked 24 times.

Lake County Associate Judge Paul Novak set bail at $20,000 following a court appearance Thursday.

“Driving is not a right, it's a privilege,” Nerheim said in a statement. “The fact that Mr. Knutson continued to get behind the wheel of a vehicle and drive is astonishing.”

Knutson was most recently cited with driving while his license was revoked March 11 after a Round Lake Beach police officer saw Knutson crash into a parked car at about 4 p.m. on the 100 block of Rollins Road, officials said.

Round Lake Beach attorneys requested in July the Lake County state's attorney's office upgrade Knutson's citation to a felony after they discovered the Illinois secretary of state's office had revoked Knutson's driver's license for life in 2010 because of a previous charge of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and previous offenses of driving on a revoked license.

The attorneys also discovered Knutson had been cited for driving while his license was revoked 16 times in Cook County, four times in Winnebago County and three times each in Kane and Lake counties. Knutson was convicted on 24 out of 26 of those charges, according to the Lake County state's attorney's office.

In addition, he has two pending charges — the one upgraded to a felony and another one from 2018.

Knutson is due back in court Monday afternoon.