Dec. 07--The drunken driving trial of a DuPage County Board member has been delayed because the attorney representing the city of Wheaton is running for a seat on the board and will no longer be prosecuting the case.
Board member Grant Eckhoff of Wheaton was scheduled to stand trial Monday in DuPage County, but prosecutor Michelle Moore told the judge she had decided to step down from the case.
Moore, a Glen Ellyn resident who is a Republican candidate for the County Board, told Judge James Konetski that questions had been raised about the propriety of her prosecuting a sitting board member. She said she did not feel as though her participation in the case presented a conflict of interest but that she would recuse herself rather than risk the appearance of one.
Moore is a private practice attorney hired by the city of Wheaton to prosecute some cases. The DuPage County state's attorney's office is unable to provide a replacement because by law the county prosecutor acts as attorney for the County Board, which also presents a conflict of interest.
Moore said she had been in touch with State's Attorney Robert Berlin, who will contact the Illinois attorney general's office to see whether it could take on the case. If that doesn't pan out, Wheaton could hire a special prosecutor, Moore said.
The judge set Dec. 21 for a status date.
Eckhoff was charged after a Wheaton police officer pulled him over about 8:30 p.m. March 2. The officer reported that Eckhoff failed to yield to an emergency vehicle as he drove east on Manchester Drive near Liberty Drive. Eckhoff had an odor of alcohol on his breath and said he drank two beers, according to the officer's report.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
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