Cullerton's Son Arrested For DUI In State Car

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 19, 2010 2:20PM

Illinois State Senate President John Cullerton is having a rough start to his week as his son Garritt, 26, was arrested over the weekend, cited for DUI in his father's state-issued SUV. Police pulled him over in the 800 block of North Dearborn just after midnight on Sunday and reported that Garritt had a BAC of .188, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. According to a release by Cullerton's office: "A Senate vehicle assigned to the Senate President for official legislative business was used by his son without his authorization. The Senate President is disappointed that this incident occurred and takes this matter very seriously. He will work to ensure that this does not occur in the future."

Ironically, Cullerton has been a proponent of tougher DUI laws in the past. According to the Sun-Times:

John Cullerton was chief co-sponsor in the Senate of a 1997 push to lower the drunken driving, blood-alcohol threshold from .10 to .08, which remains in effect. He also pushed for a 2009 state law requiring all first-time DUI offenders to install breath-alcohol ignition interlocks on their vehicles before a court can grant driving privileges.

Besides being charged with DUI, Garritt, who reportedly still lives at home with his parents, was also charged with negligent driving and improper lane usage.