Anybody that has spent more then fifteen minutes with me or has been to this blog for more then five minutes knows IÂ’m a drinker. And yes occasionally I drink to the excess. It does happen, IÂ’m admitting it. Yet I have never done anything that might jeopardize my job. I wish I could say the same thing for Jim Ryan, the City Administrator for the City of Rockford. He was arrested early this morning for a DUI.

Police arrested city Administrator Jim Ryan shortly after 3 a.m. in the 1000 block of Luther Ave. after he was spotted asleep behind the wheel of a city-owned car with its engine running.

ThatÂ’s right not only was the guy stupid enough to get behind the while when he was drunk, but it was a vehicle owned by the cityÂ… His employer! I donÂ’t know if he thought he was Teflon and laws donÂ’t apply to him, or that if he was caught, the cops would just slap his wrist and escort him home. ItÂ’s stupid enough to drink and drive, we all know that, but in a government vehicle? I canÂ’t fathom that kind of idiocy. Wait, maybe he wasnÂ’t actually drunk, he did refuse a Breathalyzer. Which means heÂ’s talked to a lawyer about this before. ItÂ’s an instant DUI, but itÂ’s easier to fight in court. (Maybe this isnÂ’t his first?) Then again with these facts:

”Officers approached the vehicle and “Ryan fumbled with the vehicle keys and putting the vehicle into park,” the statement said.

Officers noted that Ryan had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech and “bloodshot, glassy eyes,” according to the statement. He also apparently told police that he had consumed several beers earlier, but declined to take field sobriety and breath tests, the statement said.”

I really hope they throw the book at this guy and the city fires him. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. Just imagine the scandal if he had hit something, or killed someone? He is a top-ranking city official, and I hope he gets fired over this. However, with the Chicago style politics that Mayor Morrissey has brought to Rockford, I can see this getting swept under the rug.

Posted by: Contagion at 06:47 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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