Local police see an increase in DUI’s

Normal Police Department
Officer Brad Park’s advice – plan ahead and use a designated driver or rideshare service. (WJBC file photo)

 

By Neil Doyle

NORMAL – This is the time of year many police departments see a rise in DUI arrests, and even during a pandemic, that’s true this year.

Normal Police Department spokesperson Brad Park said there has been an uptick in DUI’s the last few weeks, but that is common this time of year.

“When it’s summer we see more people out and we also increase our patrols looking for impaired driving so we see an increase in those arrests,” Park told WJBC’s Marc Strauss.

The increase in DUI’s could also align with restaurants and bars now open for outdoor dining, according to Park. Phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan allows limited indoor dining and that phase could start June 26.

Park’s advice – plan ahead and use a designated driver or rideshare service.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…