A judge declared Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele not guilty of driving under the influence late Tuesday morning.
While Cook County prosecutors established a “suspicion” of impairment, Judge Donald Suriano said they failed to definitively prove Steele was under the influence of alcohol when she crashed a friend’s car into two parked vehicles along Ashland Avenue in November 2024.
Steele refused a field sobriety test and a blood draw that night, and did not show “obvious signs of impairment,” Suriano said, noting the bottle of wine in her front passenger seat was corked and sealed within a bag. “The burden has not been met,” he concluded, declaring her not guilty.
Prosecutors had argued she exhibited slurred speech, could not keep her head up, swayed while standing and smelled of alcohol. She was also “extraordinarily disrespectful” to the officers that responded to the crash, a sign of impaired judgment.
But her defense attorney, John Fotopoulos, said the state’s seven witnesses could not keep their stories straight, and disagreed about the scent of alcohol.
While “not pretty,” her refusal to be tested was well within her constitutional rights, and Steele complied with other orders to present her license and exit the car, Fotopoulos said. Her emergency room doctor also reported Steele was alert, oriented and able to walk without a problem.
Steele did not testify. After the verdict, she said in a statement that she was “pleased that justice prevailed today and the court defended the constitution. I look forward to finishing the rest of my term in Cook county rooted in transparency, efficiency, and fairness.”
The case has dogged Steele for more than a year and a half, following her through this spring’s primary election. Amid the controversy, Steele also stepped down from her role on the property tax appeals board in Lake County, Indiana, and raised little money to support her reelection bid.
The case drew national attention for Steele’s behavior on the night of the crash, including comments she made about one police officer’s alleged penis size and for repeatedly telling another that she was an elected official.
Steele ultimately lost her bid for a second term to the three-member body that hears property tax appeals in the March Democratic primary to Liz Nicholson, who is on the November ballot for the North Side seat. Nicholson accused Steele of trying to entice her to drop out of the race with a job in the office, an accusation Steele denied.
Steele’s acquittal followed a full day’s testimony from officers on the scene on Monday and brief testimony Tuesday from the nurse and doctor who examined Steele at Weiss Hospital after the crash.
The emergency room doctor said Steele “did appear intoxicated” and did not want to talk. Steele refused a physical exam, blood work, pupil examination and initially, a CT scan for potential head, chest and abdomen injuries, the doctor said. That lack of scientific evidence was key to the acquittal.
An assessment professional for much of her career, Steele faced other ethics fines or reprimands related to hiring in her office and the release of “confidential” information. She still runs a property assessment consultancy based in Evanston, the Leanor Group.
