DuPage County Cracks Down

Two years ago on October 10, 2005 Nicole Westerhoff and her four year-old son Devin, buckled up and got in the car, not suspecting what would happen next. The two were killed on contact when a driver lost control of his vehicle and slammed into theirs.

That driver had collected more than 60 traffic tickets and had received court supervision 30 times before he died in that crash as well. Now a new program, called the Westerhoff Initiative is taking specific aim at chronic speeders and what can be done to get these dangerous drivers off the roads.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph E. Birkett and Circuit Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas have recently announced the implementation of significant improvements in traffic court procedures that will revolutionize the prosecution of chronic traffic offenders not only in DuPage County but throughout the entire state of Illinois. These improvements, which will provide for improved access to a defendant's history, have garnered support from local law enforcement officials as well as Secretary of State Jesse White's office, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM). These changes are part of the Westerhoff Initiative proposed by Birkett in 2005.

Effective immediately, every traffic court in DuPage County will be equipped with a computer terminal that will allow every party involved, including the judge, access to a defendant's complete driving history through the Illinois Circuit Clerks Information Center (ICCIC). This up to date information will include a defendant's convictions, supervisions and pending cases. Created by Kachiroubas' office, the computer program, which is available to all Illinois counties provided they input their data into the system, is only in use in DuPage County. Dekalb County and the Secretary of State are providing information to ICCIC. Kane and Will Counties are reviewing contractual agreements.

"Chronic traffic offenders have skirted the law long enough," commented Birkett on a county release. "For far too long, these offenders have been able to dodge any type of appropriate judicial and administrative sanctions for their dangerous behavior. Court supervision should not be an automatic punishment for traffic offenses. It is a sentencing alternative to be reserved for low risk defendants. The days of automatic court supervision, regardless of your offense, are gone. With this new system, we now have a powerful tool to keep high-risk drivers off the road."

Following the death of Nicole and Devin, Birkett proposed the Westerhoff Initiative.

The initiative consists of four specific items:

* Assistant State's Attorneys will continue to adhere to the policy
that supervision will be reserved for the occasional minor traffic offender.
They will continue to object to court supervision in all serious cases which
included excessive speeding.
* The Clerk of the Circuit Court, Chris Kachiroubas, and his staff are
committed to insuring that traffic files are accurate and clearly reflect
both the methods of disposition (pleas, trial, etc.) as well as the
objection of the State or a municipal prosecutor to court supervision.
* Court Smart should be implemented in every traffic court. Decisions
made in traffic court can have serious life and death consequences. The
importance of an accurate transcript of court proceedings will not only hold
all parties and judges accountable, but it will also provide the public with
a clear understanding of cases involving deaths and other high profile
cases.
* Computer terminals should be available with both Clerk information
and Secretary of State access. Prior to sentencing, it is imperative that
every party and the judge know a defendant's driving record even if there is
a negotiated plea.

"The public should answer very carefully any questions regarding their driving record," Kachiroubas said. Even when paying by mail and requesting supervision, Kachiroubas's office will be reviewing all submissions using ICCIC. Filing a false statement with the office may subject offenders to contempt of court or perjury proceedings.

NCTV17 Jenny Barger reports.