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The New Lenox Township supervisor has been arrested on a charge of driving under the influence in Homer Glen.
About 2 a.m. March 6, Donald Cass Wennlund, 56, of Mokena was booked into the Will County jail following his arrest in connection with the incident. He was released a few hours later.
About 1 a.m. the same day, Will County sheriff’s deputies saw a truck exiting the front lawn of a residence near 143rd Street and Chicory Trail in Homer Glen, according to a statement from sheriff’s office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer. The vehicle drove onto the road toward a deputy with its flashers on, Hoffmeeyr said.
“Deputies believed the vehicle needed assistance and stopped their squad car and exited it. The truck then drove passed and eventually stopped down the road on Chicory Trail,” Hoffmeyer said.
Deputies approached the vehicle and asked questions of the driver, later identified as Wennlund, she said.
Wennlund refused to answer any questions, but deputies saw “several behaviors that gave them reason to believe Wennlund was under the influence of alcohol, as well as smelling alcohol on Wennlund,” Hoffmeyer said.
In a police report filed in court, a deputy wrote that Wennlund had “glassy eyes and the smell of an alcoholic beverage” coming from the vehicle.
Wennlund refused to submit to a field sobriety test, according to the report, and was unable to stand unaided and unable to walk without aid.
Wennlund was asked to step out of the vehicle, Hoffmeyer said. He was then taken into custody by deputies who assisted him into the squad vehicle.
Wennlund was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol, transportation or possession of open alcohol by driver, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and improper lane use.
After the April 6, 2021, election, Wennlund was elected as supervisor for New Lenox Township by 3,694 votes. He was unopposed. He also was chairman of an election committee called Citizens For New Lenox Township, which supports Republicans in New Lenox Township.