Cops Stepping Up the Hunt for Drunk Drivers This Holiday Weekend

The campaign to hunt down impaired drivers and those not wearing seat belts will include a roadside check on Route 59 Saturday night.

Labor Day weekend is no time to be driving around without wearing a seatbelt or, worse, getting tanked and then getting behind the wheel. Plainfield police have had stepped-up patrols looking for people committing both offenses since late last month, but plan to do special roadside check on Route 59 this Saturday night with the assistance of the Will County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office also plans on stepping up their enforcement by having more deputies out on the road, spokesman Kathy Hoffmeyer said. “It’s just kind of an overall, ‘We are watching you,’ seatbelt-DUI enforcement for the holiday,” she said. Other than assisting Plainfield on Saturday, the department is not planing any targeted campaigns beyond having more manpower …

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You've Been Warned: Crackdown on Seat Belt Violations, Impaired Driving Begins Today

State grant is paying for extra Plainfield police patrols starting Friday and continuing through Jan. 2.

Santa won't be the only one out there watching to see if you're naughty or nice. Starting today and continuing through Jan. 2, Plainfield police will be stepping up their patrols to make sure people are properly buckled up while driving and not impaired by alcohol or drugs when behind the wheel, Sgt. Eric Munson said. The department has a "zero tolerance" policy on both  and will be conducting special daytime and evening enforcements and watching vehicles on foot, Munson said in a release on the crackdown. The extra patrols are being funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation as part of the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign.

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About Town

Drunk Driving Crackdown Nets 10 Arrests

Plainfield one of many towns to participate in state program to stop DUIs over the days before and during the Labor Day weekend.

Ten tipsy drivers got a buzz kill during late-night Labor Day celebrations. The impaired driving crackdown, from Aug. 20 through Sept. 6, brings new meaning to the term "long weekend." Plainfield police arrested 10 motorists for drunk driving during this period, all of them after midnight. County and state cops awarded three more DUIs at a roadside safety check at 119th Street and Route 59. The crackdown cost $1.5 million statewide in "outreach" and extra badges. You have to wonder if it was worth it. The Plainfield PD generally issues three or four DUIs a week, said Sgt. Eric Munson, Plainfield's traffic officer.

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