Former Will County board member charged with DUI after 4-vehicle Plainfield crash

A former Will County Board member is facing a driving under the influence citation after she was involved in a four-vehicle crash last month in Plainfield, police said.

Ragan Freitag Pattison, 41, of Homer Glen is scheduled to be arraigned on a charge of DUI on Sept. 22. She initially was cited for DUI and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident in connection with the July 9 crash. The citations were amended to state charges on Aug. 11, court records show.

Pattison’s attorney, Paul Napolski, did not respond to a call Wednesday.

Pattison was a Wilmington Republican who was first elected to the Will County Board in 2012 and was re-elected in 2016. She then become the board’s chief of staff in 2017.

In 2018, when Will County Board member Denise Winfrey, D-Joliet, was the board’s speaker, she replaced Pattison with former prosecutor Moira Dunn as chief of staff.

Pattison recently has served as chairwoman of the Citizens to Elect Jeffrey Tuminello committee. Tuminello is a prosecutor who won against Judge Derek Ewanic for the 12th Judicial Circuit, 5th sub-circuit race in the June 28 general primary election.

Pattison is the director of state and local government market for Wight and Company. The company was the architectural firm for the new Will County Courthouse in Joliet.

The incident that led Pattison’s arrest began about 10:04 p.m. July 9, when officers and paramedics responded to a four-vehicle crash at the intersection of Route 30 and Renwick Road, Plainfield police Cmdr. Anthony Novak said.

Novak said the investigating officer determined that Pattison’s Jeep Grand Cherokee was the at-fault vehicle that caused the crash. She was the driver and sole occupant.

A Dodge Nitro occupied by one driver was stopped at a red light in the eastbound lane of Route 30, Novak said.

A Hyundai Accent, also occupied by one driver, was stopped at the red light directly behind the Dodge Nitro, Novak said. A Kia Forte, occupied by a driver and passenger, was the third vehicle stopped at the red light behind the Hyundai Accent, Novak said.

Pattison’s vehicle rear-ended the Kia Forte, which caused a chain reaction of the vehicles rear-ending the vehicle in front of them, Novak said.

A witness stated the light was red when Pattison struck the Kia Forte, Novak said.

Paramedics with Plainfield Fire Protection District evaluated everyone involved in the crash and all signed refusals for medical treatment, Novak said.

The officer who found Pattison at fault in the crash observed Pattison had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her breath and was stumbling while walking, all of which gave reasonable belief that she drove while under the influence of alcohol, Novak said

Pattison declined to participate in field sobriety tests, Novak said. She was then arrested on a charge of DUI, taken to the police department for booking and released from custody, he said.

The officer’s ticket described the road conditions as dry and visibility as clear at the time of the incident.