This report from The Herald and Review chronicles one night as the reporter rides along with Macon County Sherriff’s Deputy Kris Thompson, on the lookout for DUI offenders. Thompson is a full-time DUI officer, responsible for many DUI arrests in Macon County every month. He is called to many roadside stops to conduct field sobriety tests for other officers, recording it all on his dashboard camera.

Spotting someone driving without their safety belt or swerving over the center line is enough for Deputy Thompson to stop a vehicle for further investigation. Once the odor of alcohol has been detected or if the person appears intoxicated, he can then ask them to undergo field sobriety testing to determine if an arrest is necessary.

The article is an interesting insight into the world of Illinois drunk driving arrests. Deputy Thompson states that 2 DUI arrests make for a “good” night. Certainly he means this as a “good” night in keeping the roadways safe. That is, after all, his job. read more

A dashboard camera has opened up a can of worms for Chicago Police Officer Joe Parker. He recently arrested a man on suspicion of DUI stating in his report that the man, Raymond Bell failed the field sobriety test. The Officer’s camera tells a different story and has many questioning his DUI track record.

Officer Parker is one of a few officers who have received kudos for having the highest DUI arrest rates in the area. Now, however, many of those arrests are under review as people wonder how many of them were trumped up by an officer seeking praise.

The report of the evening in question had several discrepancies with the events that played out on camera. Officer Parker fabricated the speed at which the defendant was traveling, stating he was going close to 80 when the actual speed was 40 mph. He also mentioned that Bell staggered and stumbled his way through a field sobriety test, when the camera showed a man who was balanced and composed.

A similar case involving another officer has led to the dismissal of 156 DUI cases, a waste of taxpayer money and a huge inconvenience for those who were falsely arrested. read more

If some lobbyists and many Illinois residents get there way, the state may soon join 48 others in permitting concealed weapons. Yes, only Illinois and Wisconsin hold out as states who do not allow residents to carry. According to this article from the Post-Dispatch Springfield, the battle lines have been drawn.

Gun control is at the center of this debate, with people who quote the 2^nd Amendment right to bear arms on one side and people who believe an increase in firearms will cause an increase in violence on the other. Both sides feel passionately about their position and both are willing to fight for it.

Lobbyists are working towards a debate on the state Legislature floor, which would get them one step closer to their ultimate goal. They site no rise in violence among states that have recently made it permissible for citizens to carry concealed firearms and also point to a recent Supreme Court case that struck down a law in D.C. prohibiting the possession of firearms.

Gun control advocates, however, state that allowing concealed weapons will increase the sale of weapons overall and this, in turn, will lead to an increase in gun violence. They feel that by allowing people to carry weapons, they will not create a safer-feeling community, but quite the opposite. read more