{"id":535586,"date":"2010-04-20T10:34:32","date_gmt":"2010-04-20T14:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c60fd53ef01348000b908970c"},"modified":"2010-04-20T10:34:32","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T14:34:32","slug":"dui-arrest-of-cullertons-son-highlights-state-vehicle-perk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/535586","title":{"rendered":"DUI arrest of Cullerton’s son highlights state vehicle perk"},"content":{"rendered":"

From today’s print edition<\/em>:<\/p>\n

DUI arrest of Senate leader\u2019s son highlights state vehicle perk<\/h2>\n

Cullerton says he\u2019ll look into \u2018limiting the fleet\u2019<\/h3>\n

By Monique Garcia, Jeremy Gorner and Ray Long, Tribune reporters<\/p>\n

The latest drunken driving arrest for Illinois Senate President John
\nCullerton’s son has exposed a little-known perk of taxpayer-funded
\nvehicles for top state lawmakers, a benefit to those in charge of
\nfixing a government that is billions of dollars in the red.<\/p>\n

Garritt
\nCullerton, 26, who has a nine-year trail of traffic citations from
\nChicago to Springfield, was driving a state-owned Ford Escape SUV when
\nhe was pulled over by Chicago police early Sunday. He had a
\nblood-alcohol level of 0.188, more than twice the legal limit,
\naccording to police.<\/p>\n

The 2009 SUV was used by John Cullerton and
\nkept primarily at his Chicago home, where Garritt Cullerton lives. The
\nSenate president said Monday that as a result of his son’s
\n"unauthorized" use of the vehicle, he would now keep it parked at his
\ndowntown state office in the Thompson Center.\n<\/p>\n

"My wife and I and
\nfamily are very concerned about our son," John Cullerton said. "We want
\nto make sure that we help him in any way we can. So it’s a close
\nfamily, and we’re going to try to do anything we can to help him."<\/p>\n

The
\nelder Cullerton declined to discuss details of his son’s driving
\nhistory, and his office referred such questions to his son’s attorney,
\nGeorge Livas, who said he will have "no comment on any matters."<\/p>\n

Garritt
\nCullerton has been pulled over eight times on Illinois roads since July
\n2001 for citations that included following too closely, speeding 115
\nmph in a 65 mph zone and twice previously for driving under the
\ninfluence of alcohol, according to court records. In some of those
\ncases, according to court records and interviews, he was driving his
\nfather’s car displaying the official Senate license plate "6" that
\ndenotes John Cullerton’s North Side legislative district.<\/p>\n

The
\nlegislator’s son was not convicted in the previous DUI cases, in 2004
\nand 2008, but was fined for lesser traffic offenses in both instances.
\nJohn Cullerton, an attorney, said he "never, ever intervened in any
\ncourt cases affecting any of my children. And nor would I."<\/p>\n

The
\nSenate leader has long been a transportation safety advocate and
\nsponsored legislation requiring motorists convicted of drunken driving
\nto blow into an ignition-locking device to prove their sobriety.<\/p>\n

"I’m
\nvery proud of my record with regard to anti-drunk driving measures.
\nThey apply to everybody in the state," Cullerton said in an interview
\nat his Statehouse office before hosting a Springfield fundraiser for
\nthe Senate Democrats he leads.<\/p>\n

Cullerton said he would look into
\n"limiting the fleet" of cars purchased by the General Assembly for use
\nby its leaders and their staff members.<\/p>\n

"We’re interested in
\ncutting the cost of government," Cullerton said. "So we could certainly
\nexamine the need to have the number of vehicles that we have across the
\nboard."<\/p>\n

At a time when the state is facing immense budget
\npressures, the use of taxpayer-funded vehicles by top lawmakers could
\nface more intense scrutiny.<\/p>\n

"In this budget environment, I think
\nall of this is fair game," said Cynthia Canary, director of the
\nIllinois Campaign for Political Reform.<\/p>\n

"I can understand that
\nthe state has a fleet of cars, but it seems to me they need to be
\ngoverned by rules and not brought to somebody’s house," she said. "It’s
\none thing for expedience and scheduling and cars driving people to
\ngovernment appearances or to the airport. But they certainly shouldn’t
\nsupplant the family car."<\/p>\n

The assignment of state vehicles to the
\nfour partisan leaders of the state Senate and House was part of a
\nlittle-known provision of a law passed in 1984 that eliminated
\ncontroversial legislative commissions that had become bloated by the
\nsalaries of lackeys and relatives. One panel that was eliminated had a
\ndozen vehicles, and the four legislative leaders divvied them up. The
\nlegislature has bought new vehicles since that time through its
\noperations account.<\/p>\n

Cullerton’s office said the Senate currently
\nowns six vehicles, three used by Democrats and three by Republicans.
\nThe fleet includes three late-model Ford Escape hybrids, two Tauruses
\nand a 2005 Dodge Caravan.<\/p>\n

The House clerk’s office under veteran
\nDemocratic Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago said the House has eight
\nvehicles. A spokeswoman for House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego
\nsaid Cross primarily uses a 2007 GMC Yukon, but Republicans also use a
\n2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer and a 2005 Chrysler 300 C. The five other
\nHouse vehicles include 2007 Ford and Chrysler vans, a 2004 Chrysler
\nConcorde, a 2006 Chrysler 300 and the newest vehicle, a 2010 Mercury
\nMilan hybrid.<\/p>\n

The House Democrats’ vehicles are not assigned to
\nany one person on a permanent basis, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown
\nsaid. Madigan uses a car occasionally but does not keep one at his
\nhome, Brown said.<\/p>\n

Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of
\nLemont uses one of the SUVs to drive while in Springfield, spokeswoman
\nPatty Schuh said. She said another car is kept at the Chicago office
\nfor the use of staff and other lawmakers, and the van is used by staff
\nfor deliveries to district offices.<\/p>\n

Cullerton said he used the
\ncar on his way to give speeches as well as "going back and forth to
\ndowntown to the office or the airport on the way to Springfield."<\/p>\n

The
\nvehicles represent one more perk awarded to the four partisan leaders
\nof the Senate and House, who earn $95,313 a year. In addition, all 177
\nstate lawmakers get office allowances of more than $83,000 a year,
\nreimbursed round trips to Springfield when the legislature meets at 50
\ncents a mile in their private vehicle, a payment of $139 a day when
\nthey’re in session and free taxpayer-provided letterhead and envelopes.<\/p>\n

Tribune reporters Rick Pearson and Michelle Manchir contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From today’s print edition: DUI arrest of Senate leader\u2019s son highlights state vehicle perk Cullerton says he\u2019ll look into \u2018limiting the fleet\u2019 By Monique Garcia, Jeremy Gorner and Ray Long, Tribune reporters The latest drunken driving arrest for Illinois Senate President John Cullerton’s son has exposed a little-known perk of taxpayer-funded vehicles for top state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3992,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-535586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3992"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535586\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}