Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
An open bottle of Dr. McGillicuddy's Cherry Liqueur was in the center console, two unopened beers and two opened Fireball whiskey shooters. JOLIET, IL — More than two-and-a-half years after long-time Channahon firefighter-paramedic Kurt Liebermann was arrested on back-to-back DUI crimes within a three-week period, first in Channahon, then in Plainfield, Liebermann has resolved both cases at the Will County Courthouse with guilty pleas. Earlier this month, Will County Judge Jessica Colon-Sayre sentenced the 39-year-old Channahon man to 24 months of court probation after Liebermann pleaded guilty to his aggravated DUI, a felony, for his Channahon arrest. At the same time, Liebermann pleaded guilty to his other pending DUI case, the one from Plainfield, that happened three weeks later. According to sentencing records, Liebermann was given 180 days in the Will County Jail, but then he was credited for 90 days of time already served, even though he actually never served any time inside the Will County Jail for either DUI arrest. Liebermann will serve the remaining 90 days of jail on home detention as monitored by his SCRAM device, the judge's order instructed. Moreover, he must complete 25 days of community service work for programs benefiting children. Liebermann's fines and court fees imposed by the judge totaled $3,279 for the Channahon DUI felony plus another $1,553 in fees and fines for his subsequent Plainfield DUI traffic offense, court files reflect. Court files show that Liebermann has made two separate $90 payments this month toward his fines and fees imposed by Judge Colon. The Will County criminal complaint for Liebermann's aggravated DUI indicated that on Jan. 18, 2023, he was under the influence of alcohol as he drove a Chevrolet pick-up truck on Route 6, and he was transporting a person under the age of 16. Under this month's plea bargain, Liebermann's second criminal charge of endangering the life or health of a child was dismissed. According to Channahon police reports, at the time of his Route 6 traffic stop, Liebermann told the Channahon officer, "Lallos probably said something." The officer also saw Liebermann's 7-year-old child in the rear passenger seat of his truck. "I got three firearms in here," Liebermann told the officer. The officer recognized Liebermann as being on the Channahon Fire Protection District from prior calls he's assisted the fire department. At the time of both arrests, Liebermann had been serving on the Channahon Fire Protection District for 17 years. "I asked Kurt where he was headed. Kurt stated it was his daughter’s birthday, and he was dropping his daughter off at an address off of Keating Boulevard. As Kurt spoke, I smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath. I also observed Kurt to have slurred speech and bloodshot, glassy eyes. I asked Kurt how much he had to drink tonight." "Zero," Liebermann replied. "You had nothing to drink tonight?" "No, sir," Liebermann insisted. “So if you blew into a PBT, you would blow all zeroes then?” "Yeah," Liebermann told the officer. “Yeah, I got my kids tonight, I would blow all zeroes.” The officer asked if Liebermann would take a preliminary breath test. "No. I’m not doing that. I know better than that," Liebermann answered. An open bottle of Dr. McGillicuddy's Cherry Liqueur was found in the center console, along with two unopened Busch Light beers, and two opened Fireball whiskey shooters, the Channahon police reports showed. Back at the Channahon police station, Liebermann suggested he's gone out drinking with Channahon police and "you guys are different to each other. Do you know that? ... Nobody gets in trouble unless they’re not a cop. It’s nice to know that the fire department and cops can get along great. Yep, It’s pretty cool. We used to respect each other, but now there is nothing. The s***** thing is, the fire department can’t do anything to you guys. But you can do everything to the fire department." As for his follow-up DUI arrest by the Plainfield Police Department, three weeks later, on Feb. 6, 2023, Plainfield police were notified of a reckless driver near Route 59 and Naperville-Plainfield Road. That afternoon, the 911 dispatchers were told the black 2015 Chevy Silverado truck almost collided with a light pole. Around 1:05 p.m., a Plainfield officer spotted Liebermann's truck heading north on Route 59 near 143rd Street; the truck had one flat tire, and the driver committed several traffic violations before pulling into a business parking lot. After Liebermann got out to assess his truck damage, the Plainfield officer talked with him and made "several observations that led him to believe Liebermann was operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol," according to Plainfield police. Liebermann performed the field sobriety tests and was put under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. "I observed driver drive on shredded tire and lose control of vehicle, smelled distinct odor of an alcholic beverage emit from driver's mouth as he spoke, observed driver to have glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Fields conducted on driver. Fields showed signs of impairment," the Plainfield police report showed. Plainfield police said they went through Liebermann's truck and found open alcoholic beverages and two boxes of ammunition. According to the aggravated DUI complaint for his Channahon arrest, Liebermann already had one prior DUI conviction, from 2014 in LaSalle County. In that case, Liebermann was arrested by the Ottawa Police Department, and he later pleaded guilty, court files show. After both of his 2023 DUI arrests, Liebermann was represented by private counsel. Criminal defense attorney Stephen White, who works for one of Will County's largest law firms, Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol, entered his appearance on Liebermann's behalf. White is retired from the bench after serving as the Will County chief judge from 2002 until 2008. Related Joliet Patch coverage: 2nd DUI Arrest In 3 Weeks For Channahon Firefighter-Paramedic
