Remember the arrest of Chicago Alderman Sharon Dixon on suspicion of DUI? (Local DUI News: Alderman Dixon Refuses To Testify At DUI Hearing)? Just the other day a Judge heard evidence and argument regarding the possible suspension of Dixon’s license. The result? Dixon was granted her Petition to Rescind the suspension of her driver’s license.

Full story follows below:

Alderman Sharon Dixon granted driver’s license

Judge rules her license was improperly suspended in January

By Kim Janssen | Chicago Tribune reporter

Ald. Sharon Dixon (24th) was back behind the wheel Thursday evening after a judge ruled her license was improperly suspended when she was arrested for DUI in January.

Dixon allegedly smelled of alcohol and failed sobriety tests after arguing for half an hour with four Chicago police officers on the Far North Side. Her license was suspended when she refused to take a Breathalyzer test.

But at the end of a four-hour hearing at the Daley Center on Thursday, Judge Eileen O’Neill Burke said one officer’s claim that Dixon appeared drunk was undermined by his own testimony that he told her to drive home moments before arresting her.

Three other officers told Dixon either to move her car or go home before the arrest, evidence showed.

It “wasn’t reasonable” to believe that “four seasoned officers” would have used “their full authority to order her to drive her car” if they believed she was drunk, Burke said.

But the judge dressed down Dixon for her conduct that night, telling her, “You are an elected official. You cannot behave like that.” However, she added, “the issue is not whether you were obnoxious but whether there was probable cause to believe you were intoxicated.”

Dixon hugged supporters at the end of the hearing but declined to comment.

Testifying earlier, she insisted the arrest was “punishment” for her criticism of officers’ handling of a fatal fire at the intersection of North Sheridan Road and West Morse Avenue.

Dixon said she drank two glasses of wine that evening but was not drunk. She was driving home when a squad car pulled out in front of her, forcing her to swerve, she said.

The officers testified that Dixon tried to drive around them as they manned a road block as firefighters battled the blaze a block away.

During the ensuing argument, Dixon told the officers, “You don’t know who I am,” the officers alleged.

Dixon admitted she telephoned Ald. Joe Moore (49th), whose ward includes where the incident took place, for assistance shortly before she was arrested.

Thursday’s ruling means prosecutors likely face an uphill battle to convict Dixon on her pending charge of driving under the influence. To keep her off the road, prosecutors had to prove Dixon was intoxicated based on a preponderance of the evidence.

The Law Offices of James E. Fabbrini have years of experience protecting people charged with DUI. From first time DUI offenders to felony DUI, our Chicago DUI lawyers have successfully fought DUI charges in Chicago and the surrounding areas.

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