Survey: Illinois Cities, Counties With the Most DUI Arrests in 2015

Survey: Illinois Cities, Counties With the Most DUI Arrests in 2015
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

The Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists recently released its 26th annual survey of drunken driving arrests in Illinois.

Nearly 700 police departments from across the state were surveyed in the group's 2015 DUI arrest survey, which received a response rate of 81 percent.

AAIM, a nonprofit citizens action group, was founded in 1982 by victims of drunken driving with the help of former Gov. Jim Edgar, who at the time was secretary of state and led legislative efforts to crack down on intoxicated motorists by establishing the state's first citizens task force. The survey has been conducted since 1990 and is funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"Over the last three decades, progress has been made to help eliminate the devastation caused by impaired driving in Illinois. While frustratingly slow, many lives have been saved," AAIM Executive Director Rita Kreslin said in a press release. "Focused efforts and cooperation of law enforcement agencies, traffic safety advocates and communities have helped to prevent crashes and save thousands of lives."

The Illinois State Police reported 12 percent more arrests than the 5,784 made in 2014. In 2013, state troopers arrested 9,302 intoxicated drivers.

Chicago's DUI arrest total was nearly the same over the year, with only six fewer arrests compared to 2014.

The Secretary of State Police, which focuses on enforcing laws on vehicle registration and sales of motor vehicles and parts, also figured into the statistics, but only reported five drunken driving arrests compared to 20 the previous year.

Among the Top 5 cities with the largest increase in the number of DUI arrests between 2014 and 2015 were Peoria, 83.9 percent; Carol Stream, 31.8 percent; Rockford, 20.8 percent; Elgin, 18.9 percent; and Cicero, 17.6 percent.

Here's a list of the Top 25 cities and counties with the most drunken driving arrests last year, as well as those with the most DUI arrests per 1,000 residents.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot