Geneva man facing additional DUI charges
By BRENDA SCHORY bschory@kcchronicle.com
New charges of driving under the influence has prompted the state's attorney to ask a judge to either revoke or increase a Geneva man's bond today.
Mark J. Peterson, 52, of the 300 block of Woodward Avenue., was charged in St. Charles June 14, 2008 with drunken driving and unlawful use of a weapon.
Those charges were still pending when Freeport police charged him on May 15 with aggravated driving under the influence, aggravated driving with a revoked license and driving the the wrong way down a one-way street, police said.
An account executive with Pinnacle Insurance in North Aurora, Peterson was was briefly a candidate for alderman in the Fifth Ward when he was charged last year.
Peterson is scheduled to appear in court this morning on last year's charges. The Kane County State's Attorney will ask a judge to set bond higher than $1,000 or revoke his bond, according to court records. If his bond is revoked, he could go to jail to await trial, officials said.
When Peterson was released last year, the condition of his bond required that he not commit any criminal offenses while awaiting final orders in that case, court papers state. According to the filing from the state's attorney, Peterson's blood alcohol content in the Freeport arrest was .216 percent. The legal limit in Illinois is .08 percent.
The state's attorney's office also cites Illinois Secretary of State records which detail that Peterson was charged with DUI five times since 1978. Other than the latest two charges, Peterson was also charged on April 2, 1978, Jan. 24, 1987, Dec. 11 1987, according to court papers.
Peterson posted $100 and his license as bond on last year's charges in St. Charles, police said. According to Stephenson County records, he posted $3,000 bond after his arrest.
"My information was he had a DUI charge pending in Kane County so his license, at the time of his arrest, was revoked," Freeport Deputy Police Chief Bob Smith said. "That elevated the charge to a felony status. He was stopped by an officer because another motorist had to veer out of his way because he was driving the wrong way down a one-way street."
The Stephenson County State's Attorney's Office did not return a telephone message seeking comment.
Peterson did not return a phone message, nor an e-mail seeking comment. Peterson's attorney also would not comment.
