DUI Arrests: How Does Western Springs Stack Up?

By Darren McRoy

The Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists released on Tuesday its annual survey of Illinois arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The Western Springs Police Department made 16 DUI arrests in 2012, or 0.76 arrests per sworn officer in the department. That number is less than in neighbors Hinsdale (2.24 per officer) and Westchester (1.19 per officer) but more than in La Grange Park (0.5 per officer) or Broadview (0.4 per officer). La Grange was not included in the list.

AAIM is an Illinois-only citizen activist group founded in 1982 by victims of drunk driving. The organization's mission is prevention, victim advocacy and legislation.

Since 1990, the nonprofit has conducted a survey of police departments. In 2012, nearly 700 police agencies were surveyed with 84 percent responding, according to AAIM.

The survey contains 2012 arrest data for all Illinois counties and for nearly all towns. The above chart shows the data for western suburbs of Chicago, sorted by DUI arrest rate per sworn officer.

“One reason AAIM continues to survey and report the number of impaired driving arrests throughout Illinois because traffic safety advocates believe that drunk drivers who are arrested are the fortunate ones," AAIM Board Vice President and crash survivor Marti Belluschi said in a press release.

"In our impaired driving prevention programs, we always remind people that if they are driving drunk they are lucky if it is a cop that stops them, rather than a tree, another car or a small child."

Itasca had the highest arrest rate per officer (11.48) of the towns surveyed in Illinois. Chicago is not included and due to its size, has its own category. Naperville had the second highest overall number of arrests (662), surpassed only by Rockford, which had 699 arrests.