Aurora police rank first in DUI arrests in state outside of Chicago
Aurora had more arrests in 2022 for driving under the influence than any town in Illinois outside of Chicago, according to an annual report released Thursday by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists.
Because of its size and number of sworn officers, Chicago is placed in a separate category for the report.
The Aurora Police Department reported 339 driving under the influence arrests in 2022, an increase from the 325 DUI arrests made in 2021, the report shows.
“I am extremely proud of our officers’ efforts and I would like to commend each of them for going above and beyond,” Aurora police Chief Keith Cross said in a statement.
In 2022, Aurora led the way in the report of Illinois towns outside of Chicago with its 339 DUI arrests, Decatur was next with 289 arrests, Lombard had 287 arrests, Rockford had 283, Franklin Park had 250, Elgin had 234 and Naperville and Elmhurst tied with 224 arrests.
Nearly 700 police agencies in the state were surveyed by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists for the report, and 82% responded, officials said.
Since 2017, the city has partnered with the Law Offices of Kimberly DiGiovanni Ltd. to handle basic drunken driving cases under local city ordinances. This has helped officers save time by not having to drive far to appear in county courts, especially since Aurora is located in four different counties.
Additionally, Aurora police spokesman Lt. Joseph Howe said some officers attend Advanced Roadside Impairment Driving Enforcement training to help police better identify people under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The department also uses in-house standard field sobriety test trainers and drug recognition experts as part of its campaign against DUI.
“Traffic enforcement is one of our top priorities in the city,” Howe said. “Our goal is always for safe roads and enhanced safety for everyone.”
Rockford saw the biggest increase in DUI arrests among departments with a 48.2% jump from 2021 to 2022, according to the report. Normal saw a 17.9% jump and Aurora saw a 4.3% increase.
For 33 years the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, an organization dedicated to preventing deaths and injuries caused by chemically impaired or distracted drivers of motor vehicles or watercraft, has tallied the results of its Illinois DUI Arrest Survey that’s funded by a grant from the state’s Department of Transportation.
AAIM recognized four Aurora officers for having the most DUI arrests in the department in 2022: Megan Scott with 32, Nathalia Pineda with 13 and Ryan Frias and Dereck Stoch each with 12.
The officer with the most 2022 DUI arrests in the state, the group said, was Trooper Kevin Bradley of the Illinois State Police, who made 145 arrests.
