More Trouble For Cullerton's Son

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 20, 2010 5:20PM

After this weekend's DUI arrest for Garritt Cullerton, son of state senate president John Cullerton, there's been a bit more digging and it turns out Garritt has been pulled over a number of times in recent years for a variety of offenses. According to the Tribune:

Garritt Cullerton has been pulled over eight times on Illinois roads since July 2001 for citations that included following too closely, speeding 115 mph in a 65 mph zone and twice previously for driving under the influence of alcohol, according to court records. In some of those cases, according to court records and interviews, he was driving his father's car displaying the official Senate license plate "6" that denotes John Cullerton's North Side legislative district.

The legislator's son was not convicted in the previous DUI cases, in 2004 and 2008, but was fined for lesser traffic offenses in both instances. John Cullerton, an attorney, said he "never, ever intervened in any court cases affecting any of my children. And nor would I."

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. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Cullerton, who has been a proponent of tougher DUI laws in the state, said, "My wife and I and family are very concerned about our son. We want to make sure that we help him in any way we can. So it's a close family, and we're going to try to do anything we can to help him."