Former Officer Sentenced For Off-Duty DUI In Crystal Lake

By Sam Borcia, the Lake & McHenry County Scanner

A now-former Illinois State Police trooper received supervision after pleading guilty to driving under the influence in his unmarked squad car while off-duty in Crystal Lake in 2019.

Matthew E. Konie, 52, of the 900 block of Cherry Lane in Lombard, was charged with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class A misdemeanor.

Officers with the Crystal Lake Police Department conducted a traffic stop on Konie’s unmarked police cruiser, a Ford Explorer, on February 1, 2019.

Police officers suspected Konie may have been impersonating an officer because he reportedly had been activating his SUV’s lights and sirens before the stop, the Northwest Herald reported, citing a police report.

When police pulled Konie’s vehicle over at Main Street and Congress Parkway in Crystal Lake, they told the man that they smelled “a lot of alcohol” on him, dashcam video showed.

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Konie refused field sobriety testing during the stop and officers took him into custody.

At the time, Konie resided in Lake in the Hills and was employed as an Illinois State Police master sergeant.

The Illinois State Police immediately placed Konie on restricted duty following his arrest and he eventually retired from the department in late September, the Northwest Herald reported.

Court records show Konie accepted a plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

He pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol in exchange for his second count being dismissed.

A judge sentenced Konie to one year of supervision, attendance at a DUI school and a victim-impact panel, court records show. He was also required to pay $2,271 in court fines and fees.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.