McHenry Times

McHenry County issued the following announcement on Sept. 17.

The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office is honored to announce that Patrick Kenneally has received the 2018 Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Heroes Award for his efforts in outstanding impaired driving enforcement.

The award was presented on September 15, 2018 at the Wyndham Springfield Convention Center. MADD recognized Kenneally for the many initiatives the State’s Attorney’s Office have launched since 2018 to combat drunk driving and make roads safer.

One such initiative includes the No Refusal Policy the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office has launched with most of the police department in McHenry County. Evidence of a drunk driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the strongest possible evidence prosecutors have in a DUI prosecution. The No Refusal Policy ensures that a warrant for a blood draw is obtained for any DUI suspect that refuses breathalyzer testing so that prosecutors have evidence of BAC and can hold drunk drivers fully accountable.

In addition to aggressively prosecuting all Sheriff and Illinois State Police misdemeanor DUI cases and all felony DUI cases, the State’s Attorney’s Office has been monitoring the DUI misdemeanor cases handled by municipal attorneys to ensure those cases are not being unnecessarily plead to a reduced charge or dismissed.

Lastly, the State’s Attorney’s Office has conducted dozens of trainings for law enforcement on the topic of DUI so that officers countywide are prepared to conduct the best possible investigations and testify convincingly in court.

The State’s Attorney’s Office wishes to thank MADD for the recognition.

Original source can be found here.