Special prosecutor to handle DUI charge filed against Madison County Board member

A special prosecutor has been appointed to handle a DUI charge filed against Madison County Board member Charles “Skip” Schmidt.

Schmidt, 74, of Edwardsville, was charged with driving under the influence and other traffic offenses on March 30 by the Edwardsville Police Department, according to police and court records.

Schmidt could not be reached for comment.

Bryce Joiner is Schmidt’s attorney, and a member of Joiner’s office in Edwardsville said Friday he had no comment on the case.

After he was pulled over, Schmidt told the police officer that he was a Madison County Board member, according to a police incident report filed by Officer Derrick Nichols. At the police station during booking, Schmidt said he was “guilty, obviously” and asked if he could be given a warning, but Nichols told him they were past that point, the report stated.

Schmidt registered 0.097% blood-alcohol content after a breath sample was taken, according to the report.

The legal limit in Illinois is 0.08%.

Joiner entered a “not guilty” plea was entered on Schmidt’s behalf on Tuesday, according to Madison County court records. The next court date for the case is scheduled for May 11.

Along with the DUI charge, Schmidt was charged with changing lanes without a signal, improper traffic lane usage, driving 15-20 mph above the limit, and going the wrong way on a one-way street.

Schmidt, a Republican, was elected to represent District 24 on the county board in November when he defeated Democrat Erika Kohoutek with a vote of 2,393 to 2,159.

Police incident report

Nichols saw Schmidt driving a Nissan Rogue north on Illinois 157 and turn right onto West Schwarz Street without using a turn signal at 6:49 p.m. March 30, the police report states.

The Nissan was going at a “high rate of speed” on West Schwarz Street, according to the report.

“I was traveling over 40 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone to try and catch up with the Nissan,” Nichols wrote in the report.

The officer also noted the Nissan “began driving to its left on the divider line” of the street.

On East Schwarz Street, Nichols put on the patrol car’s light to conduct a traffic stop. The Nissan then turned left, or north, onto South Kansas Street, which is a one-way street for southbound traffic. The Nissan then stopped in a parking lot at 209 E. Schwarz St.

The officer smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the Nissan and reported that Schmidt’s “speech was very slurred,” according to the report.

The report states that Schmidt told Nichols he turned left onto Kansas Street to “accommodate” the officer, who told Schmidt that he could have turned right onto Kansas or continued straight on East Schwarz Street.

Schmidt responded that he was “under duress.”

The report states that Schmidt told the officer that he had “a couple of drinks” while watching a St. Louis Cardinals game at an American Legion on Illinois 157.

Schmidt also said he possibly had three drinks after Nichols had asked him if he only had two drinks, and Schmidt later told police that he had had three beers and one shot, according to the report.

March 30, the day of Schmidt’s arrest, was the season opener for the Cardinals and the first pitch was at 3:22 p.m.

The police report notes that sometime during the booking process Schmidt told the officer that he was talking to Edwardsville Mayor Art Risavy on his personal phone, and the officer heard Schmidt say that he had gotten a “DWI.”

Risavy said Friday that Schmidt was just calling to let him know that he had been pulled over.

Special prosecutor

A judge Tuesday granted a request to name Jersey County Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Tellor as a special prosecutor for the case involving Schmidt.

The Madison County State’s Attorney Office had asked that a special prosecutor be named in the case since Schmidt is on the county board.

Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine gives legal advice to the county board as part of his job as a state’s attorney.

“The prosecution of the defendant by the State’s Attorney’s Office could be a conflict of interest for the office, or alternatively, could create the appearance of an impropriety,” said a motion filed by Chad Loughrey, the first assistant state’s attorney.

Tellor has agreed to handle the appointment, according to the motion.