Kane County State's Attorney 'No-Refusal' Initiative on New Year's Eve
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announces that Kane County’s Pre-Thanksgiving No-Refusal operation, a collaborative effort of the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office and multiple Kane County law-enforcement agencies, netted four intoxicated drivers.
The operation included nine police agencies – Batavia, Elburn, Elgin, Geneva, Pingree Grove, St. Charles, South Elgin, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police District 15.
The details:
From 11 p.m. on November 23 until 3 a.m. on November 24, 2022, officers who stopped and arrested a suspected intoxicated driver transported the alleged offender to their local police station. At the station, the alleged offender was asked to submit to a breathalyzer or other chemical testing.
Any suspect who refused to provide the sample was informed by an assistant state’s attorney that a court order would be sought ordering them to provide the sample. Suspects who continued to refuse to submit to chemical testing after being presented with a search warrant faced additional charges.
Illinois courts have consistently held that a driver has no right to refuse chemical testing when probable cause exists that he or she is intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle. One search warrant was obtained during the initiative. That motorist submitted to a blood test when presented with the warrant.
Three of the four samples obtained indicated that the driver had a blood-alcohol concentration at least 1.5 times the 0.08 threshold, and two samples were more than twice the 0.08 standard: .136, .189, .196. The fourth sample was in the form of blood.
The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office will continue to conduct the No-Refusal initiatives with local police. The next scheduled No-Refusal Operation is set for December 31, 2022.
“I am grateful for the work of the police agencies who keep Kane County’s streets safe on a night that many people are out having fun and, unfortunately, making bad choices," said Mosser. "Given the options available for a safe ride, it is simply inexcusable for someone to drive while impaired, endangering everyone on the road and putting themselves and others at risk. My thanks to DUI Supervisor ASA Katy Flannagan, along with ASAs Alex Gasparro, Tyler Cox and Amanda Busljeta for assisting the police with this detail. We will hold our next No-Refusal Operation on New Year’s Eve.”
Participating agencies and number of arrests:
BATAVIA - Zero
ELBURN - Zero
ELGIN - 2 arrested and charged with DUI
GENEVA - 1 arrested and charged with DUI
ILLINOIS STATE POLICE DISTRICT 15 - Zero
KANE COUNTY SHERIFF - Zero
PINGREE GROVE - Zero
SOUTH ELGIN - Zero
ST. CHARLES - 1 arrested and charged with DUI
The charges are not proof of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source/Kane County State's Attorneys Office
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