Edwardsville police release details of former U.S. attorney’s third DUI
Former U.S. Attorney Steve Wigginton was involved in a “minor” crash on Thursday before he was arrested on a DUI charge for the third time since 2017, the Edwardsville Police Department said Monday.
Wigginton, 56, of Edwardsville, failed a field sobriety test and was arrested on charges of failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a news release from Police Chief Jay Keeven.
Keeven had confirmed on Friday that Wigginton was arrested the prior day but he said he would not have the details of the case until Monday. The arresting officer has not completed his police report but Keeven said he has received a briefing from a sergeant who was on the scene.
Wigginton was the top law-enforcement official in Southern Illinois from 2010 to 2015.
He previously was arrested on DUI charges in May 2017 after a single-vehicle crash in Troy and on Dec. 31, 2018, in Edwardsville.
The crash on Thursday occurred on Club Centre Court near Illinois 157 at about 5 p.m. A citizen called police to say a Jeep struck a red vehicle and then parked in a lot a short distance away from the crash, according to the news release.
Keeven said Wigginton was driving the 2017 Jeep and that no one was injured in the crash.
Wigginton declined to take a breath test after he was transported to the Edwardsville Police Department.
After he had his booking photo taken, Wigginton posted his driver’s license and $100 cash as his bond and he was released.
Court dates
Wigginton has upcoming court dates for his two pending DUI cases.
For the charge involving his arrest on New Year’s Eve last year, he has a court date this Thursday.
And for his latest DUI charge, he has a court date of Feb. 5.
Wigginton could not be reached for comment and online Madison County Court records do not list a defense attorney regarding his latest charge.
As far as the 2017 case, Wigginton pleaded guilty to the charge in 2017 and was sentenced to court supervision and a fine of $1,500.
Driver’s license
After his Dec. 31, 2018, arrest, Wigginton was able to retain his driver’s license because of what Madison County Circuit Clerk Mark Von Nida has called a “human error” involving the civil case on whether Wigginton could keep his driver’s license.
This process is separate from the criminal case involving the DUI charge.
The circuit clerk’s office explained in March how the mistake happened: On Feb. 1, Wigginton’s attorney, Curtis Dawson, requested a hearing for Wigginton. This hearing must be scheduled within 30 days of when the request was made. An employee who handled scheduling in the circuit clerk’s office miscalculated, and scheduled Wigginton’s hearing for March 7, six days after the deadline.
Consequently, the civil case was dropped due to a summary statute suspension, which automatically kicks in unless there is a hearing, Von Nida said in March.
Republicans on the Madison County Board in March voiced suspicions that Von Nida’s office made the error as a political favor to Wigginton, who is a Democrat, but Von Nida, also a Democrat, said the mistake had nothing to do with politics.
When Wigginton’s license was reinstated, the clerical error allowed the same thing to happen to six other motorists facing DUI charges.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 10:19 AM.
