Kane planning Super Bowl DUI detail

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Joe McMahon Kane County State's Attorney 12-7-10

Updated: January 24, 2012 2:16AM

The Kane County state’s attorney’s office is planning its eighth no-refusal operation for Super Bowl Sunday

The no-refusal detail, involving enhanced drunken-driving patrols, will begin the evening of Feb. 5. The operation will be conducted in several Kane County jurisdictions, although the state’s attorney would not say specifically which police departments will be taking part.

“Historically, people tend to ramp up the partying on Super Bowl Sunday, often with deadly consequences,” State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on the last Super Bowl Sunday, 49 percent of all traffic fatalities across the nation involved a driver with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

And according to the consumer research group The Nielsen Company, Super Bowl Sunday ranks eighth among the highest beer-selling occasions annually, McMahon said. Nielsen data shows that nearly 52 million cases of beer are sold the week before and on Super Bowl Sunday.

“We want people to have fun, to watch the Super Bowl, to rate the commercials, and to enjoy the camaraderie of family and friends,” McMahon said. “But when the game is over, safety and responsibility are in order. ... It is our belief that this enhanced enforcement will prompt partiers to plan for a safe ride home.”

Through the no-refusal strategy, police are able to expedite the DUI booking process. With guidance from an assistant state’s attorney, police officers can quickly obtain a search warrant to compel a DUI suspect to submit to a blood or breath test as required by Illinois’ Implied Consent statute.

Anyone who refuses to submit to chemical testing after a search warrant has been obtained could face additional sanctions.