Driver’s Ed Teacher Resigns Amid Scandal

JOLIET, IL — A driver’s education teacher police said was found passed out drunk behind the wheel of a driver’s ed car parked outside the main entrance of Joliet Central High School stepped down from his job.

Nestor Nowak, 46, resigned Monday night, said Joliet high school district spokeswoman Kristine Schlismann. Nowak had been on leave.

A Joliet Central employee found Nowak slumped over the steering wheel of a white Ford driver’s ed car the morning of April 6, police said. Fearing that Nowak was suffering from some medical issue, police said, the employee called for an ambulance.

Nowak was taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center. A blood draw showed his alcohol content was more than three times the .08 percent legal limit for driving, police said.

A Joliet Central human resources staffer reached out to the detective assigned to the school a week later, police said. A warrant was then obtained for Nowak's arrest.

Nowak was able to work as a Joliet high school district driver’s ed teacher in spite of pleading guilty to drunken driving in July 2014. He was sentenced in that case to a year of court supervision.

Schlismann pointed out that Nowak had a valid driver’s license. Superintendent Cheryl McCarthy said in a statement that the district was not aware of the 2014 driving under the influence plea until Monday.

A special prosecutor was appointed to Nowak’s 2014 drunken driving case because his father, Martin Nowak, had been the longtime undersheriff to former Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas.

The motion to appoint a special prosecutor also said that Nestor Nowak worked for the county at River Valley Justice Center but did not specify in what capacity.

Nestor Nowak | image via Will County Sheriff's Department