State Rep. Randy Ramey arrested for DUI

A state lawmaker who also heads the DuPage County Republican Party was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on Sunday night.

Rep. Randy Ramey, R-Carol Stream, was pulled over for alleged improper lane usage at Lies Road and Bedford Drive in Carol Stream, said Vicki Crawford, a spokeswoman for the House Republican caucus.

Ramey blew a 0.17 into a breathalyzer, Crawford said, twice the legal blood-alcohol limit in Illinois.

"I regret and take full responsibility for my actions, and I am prepared to face the consequences," Ramey, 48, said in a prepared statement. "I am deeply sorry to disappoint my family and my constituents."

Nobody was in the car with Ramey, Crawford said.

Carol Stream Police Chief Kevin Orr declined to release the police report on the incident because it concerns a pending investigation. But he said the traffic stop occurred at 2:10 a.m. on Sunday. Ramey failed four field sobriety tests before being arrested and taken to the police station for the breathalyzer test, Orr said. Orr wasn't sure how Ramey got home.

Ramey is scheduled to make a court appearance in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton at 9 a.m. on Sept. 26, Orr said.

Ramey is the stepson of former Senate President James "Pate" Philip and, as Philip once was, is the chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party. He took that post in July.

In 2006, Ramey sponsored a bill signed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich that would put some fines collected from those convicted of DUI into a fund to buy equipment to help police enforce and prevent DUIs.

Chris Wetterich can be reached at (217) 788-1523.