An Illinois official who helps oversee mass-transit programs caused several drivers–including a sheriff’s deputy–to swerve out of his way before he was arrested on drunken-driving charges in McHenry County this month, police said.
He also mentioned his job with the state in an apparent attempt to avoid arrest, Sheriff Keith Nygren said.
Daniel E. Stefanski, 47, of Mundelein, a deputy director of the Illinois Department of Transportation, refused a Breathalyzer test after being stopped April 15 by sheriff’s police, Nygren said.
He is scheduled to appear in court Friday on charges of driving under the influence, improper lane use, having no proof of insurance, resisting arrest and felony aggravated assault, Nygren said.
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Stefanski, a longtime friend of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s, has previously been charged with DUI and reckless driving in Lake and Cook Counties, according to records.
“`Do you know who I am?'” Nygren quoted Stefanski as saying after police stopped Stefanski on April 15 near Johnsburg. “`I am the secretary to the director of the Illinois Department of Transportation.'”
Stefanski’s title is actually deputy director of public and intermodal transportation, according to IDOT spokesman Matt Vanover. He earns $105,000 a year managing grants for mass transit agencies around the state, among other duties.
Stefanski did not return a call to his IDOT office Wednesday. A man who answered his cell phone hung up.
A former head of Teamsters Local 726 in Chicago, Stefanski began the job with the transportation agency in April 2003. Vanover said Stefanski will remain in the job while the agency looks into the allegations and awaits the outcome of the court case.
Blagojevich grew up with Stefanski and has remained a friend through the years, although the governor said Wednesday in Washington that he has seen him only once or twice since the 2002 election.
On one of those occasions, however, Stefanski inquired about job prospects, Blagojevich said.
“We talked about opportunities for him,” said Blagojevich, who was in Washington lobbying for a $1 billion research project at Argonne National Laboratory.
Blagojevich defended Stefanski’s work at IDOT, saying he has been a good employee.
But the governor also said he won’t tolerate favoritism for him.
“I was very clear with Tim Martin, the secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, to play this by the book and treat Danny Stefanski as you would treat any other employee similarly situated with the same sort of issues,” Blagojevich said.
On April 15, it took three officers to get Stefanski into the back of the squad car, Nygren said.
At the McHenry County Jail, Stefanski allegedly swung at a corrections officer but missed. That resulted in the felony charge of aggravated assault, Nygren said.
After a night in jail, Stefanski posted $1,000 bail, according to jail records.
In March 2000, Stefanski also refused a Breathalyzer test after being stopped by police in Lake County, according to secretary of state records. As a result, the records show, he lost his driver’s license for six months. Lake County Circuit Court records show he was placed on supervision for a year, ordered to attend DUI school, and fined $550, which he paid.
For refusing to take a Breathalyzer a second time, Stefanski probably will lose his license for three years, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Cook County Circuit Court records show he was cited for reckless driving in August 2003. He paid a $1,000 fine in that case, the records show.
Four people called police about 6:20 p.m. April 15 to report Stefanski’s erratic driving on Ringwood Road near Johnsburg. Though they had to swerve out of his way, no one was injured, Nygren said.
A squad car approaching Stefanski’s 2004 Chevrolet Malibu head-on on Chapel Hill Road near August Lane was forced to swerve off the road, Nygren said.
“`What’s this all about?'” Stefanski asked the officer who stopped him, according to Nygren.
The sheriff said Stefanski’s speech was slurred, there was a strong smell of alcohol and he used profanity several times.
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