On the road again
From the
Chicago Sun Times comes this story about people and driving:
Why are they still driving?
Nery E. Morales knew he was catching a break. With two DUI arrests last year and a suspended driver's license, the Northwest Side man faced jail time after getting pulled over by the Illinois State Police for doing 90 mph on the Northwest Tollway near Rolling Meadows in November, records show.
But in exchange for pleading guilty to driving on a suspended license, Morales, 24, avoided being sent to jail.
"I understand the seriousness," Morales told Judge Pamela Karahalios on March 16. "I'm getting some slack, and I'm thankful I'm getting a second chance."
Then he walked out of the Cook County branch courthouse in Rolling Meadows, got into a white Mitsubishi and drove away -- even though his driver's license is suspended until 2013.
A man who twice answered "This is Nery" on a phone listed to Morales told a reporter asking about the courthouse drive-off that it was a wrong number.
A Chicago Sun-Times reporter and photographer saw Morales drive away from the courthouse. The newspaper is watching local courthouses for drivers with invalid licenses thumbing their noses at judges -- often despite warnings not to drive.
They're not hard to find.
The article then goes on to profile a couple examples including this one:
Latisha C. Fisher, 31, of Bolingbrook had her license suspended in 2003 after racking up too many moving violations, according to the secretary of state's office.
She kept driving, though, and got into an accident last September, records show. On March 21, she pleaded guilty in Maywood to driving on a suspended license.
"Ma'am you understand you cannot drive," Judge James A. Zafiratos said to her.
"Yes, sir," she replied, looking straight at him.
But after signing up for community service, Fisher got into a black car in the courthouse parking lot and drove away.
When reached later, she wouldn't say why she was still driving.
"I don't want to explain," Fisher said. "I don't feel I need to explain."
Talk about a grossly inflated sense of entitlement. Sheesh...
Posted by DaveH at April 22, 2007 8:58 PM