Posted on 10/08/2005 1:49:17 PM PDT by elkfersupper
With major capital projects on the horizon, Hoffman Estates may turn to drunken drivers for additional revenue, following the lead of communities such as Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Hanover Park and Rolling Meadows.
Beginning next year, drunken drivers may have to cough up an additional $500 if they get pinched on village streets.
With DUI arrests in Hoffman Estates fluctuating between 300 and 500 annually over the last four years, the village could garner an extra $150,000 to $250,000. That's on top of a $100 per DUI arrest fee that the state remits annually to local arresting agencies across Illinois.
In Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove and other communities, the DUI surcharge is tacked on as an impound fee. Following a DUI arrest, the driver must first hand over $500 before getting the vehicle back.
But because of the numerous fees faced by those charged with DUI, the law has its critics.
Donald Ramsell, a Wheaton attorney who specializes in defending DUI cases, said the new law is not only unfair, but also illegal.
"The whole thing is a joke. First off, they hold the car hostage for $500," he said. "Secondly, if the person who is arrested, in many cases, challenges the fee, the police chief is the one who conducts an independent review of whether or not the arrest was lawful. How independent is that?"
After legal fees of anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000, court-mandated counseling fees of $1,000 to $2,000, other miscellaneous fees of $2,500, a state DUI technology surcharge and court costs and fees of $3,500, a first-time offender can easily pay $15,000 to $20,000 after getting being arrested for DUI, Ramsell said.
Ramsell said he plans in several weeks to file a request for an injunction challenging local DUI surcharge ordinances. Ramsell said the petition will cite due process and search and seizure laws.
"It's an unfair hardship," Ramsell said. "But people arrested for DUIs aren't too popular in the eyes of the public. I think more and more communities are going to be paying the bills with DUI arrests."
Charlene Chapman, executive director of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, said the surcharge is appropriate because it covers the costs incurred by police for making DUI arrests.
"It essentially helps cover the cost of the crime. The legislation that permits this charge is meant to help communities recoup their expenses," Chapman said.
In some communities, however, revenues are funneled into the general budget fund, Chapman said, which she does not favor.
"We support the ordinances, but we believe the funds should be used for enforcement (only)," she said.
Locking up drunken drivers, which requires the purchase of Breathalyzers and overtime for police, isn't cheap. Assistance from state police is necessary to subsidize special DUI enforcement initiatives in the suburbs. Officials in Rolling Meadows, which approved a DUI surcharge law last week, put the administrative costs of processing a DUI arrest at about $750.
Citing it as a possible source of general fund revenues, Hoffman Estates Village Manager Jim Norris introduced the DUI surcharge last week. The Village Board will likely discuss it next month. The village, which is currently reviewing its 2006 budget, is seeking new revenue streams as officials consider a growing list of capital expenses including neglected road improvements, a new police station and the relocation of at least one fire station. The tab for all three is about $32 million.
Village officials are taking a look at a number of potential revenue generators, such as an expanded entertainment tax, increased food and beverage, hotel or property taxes and a utility tax..
Interesting, and all along, I thought it was about public safety (/sarcasm).
Another one.
I do not see the difference between drunk driving and shooting blindly into a crowd of people. The punishment should be the same.
Um...shouldn't the state be paying them (if at all) for each DUI conviction and not per arrest? That seems somehow wrong...
"I do not see the difference between drunk driving and shooting blindly into a crowd of people."
I agree.
Define "drunk". If you will look into it, it means whatever the LEO on the side of the road wants it to mean. You're "drunk if you take any prescription or over-the-counter meds.
It's a witch hunt for revenue. Why don't they just make every street in the village a toll road?
John Edwards may have been right all this time. There really are two America's. But, it's not rich and poor. The two America's are the tax payers versus the tax takers and recipients who are sucking the public dry.
And these guys wonder why taxpayes don't want to keep paying and are passing TABOR (taxpayer bill of rights) legislation in more states.
Wait until you are accused......and at the rate we're going, you will be. Let us know what you think then.
Apparently Cops are unable to get anything done without overtime. The first 40 hours disappears into the either.
Any Cops working a "revenue" project should be required to cover their badge with a "dollar sign"!
Here's another idea. Why not just stop "manufacturing" criminals.
Because law enforcement would have to bust real criminals, and that just isn't that easy. They tend to live in crappy neighborhoods and shoot back......a money losing proposition.
Nothing but a shakedown. Guilty until proven innocent.
I call it what it is, highway robbery. Stop the car, take your money.
Gonna be kinda tough to accuse me of drunk driving when I don't drink or use ANY other drugs.
Because a "Special Interest" group has the political process by the neck. Any opposition, that is any call for sanity, is played as being for criminals and most importantly, against the children.
Yup, it's a shame. Criminalizing people for revenue enhancement. This is also why we no longer have "Peace Officers". We now have "Law Enforcement Officers", the largest, best-financed, best-equipped street gang in America.
Coffee? Green Tea? The occasional decongestant? You ever around paints, solvents, adhesives, sealants, fuels, lubricants?
If so, you're a candidate.
The revenue-generating question is, how much is drunk?
You have that right. The good news is, there appears to be a nice little backlash building.
Check this out. All 6 links in the blog entry are worth the read.
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