Illinois Trucker Linked to Scandal Loses License

A truck driver who has been linked to a bribery scandal involving state commercial driver licensing facilities lost his license after ignoring a judge's order to undergo the test again.

"We're dealing with a privilege, not a right," Cook County Circuit Judge John Madden said as he ordered Ricardo Guzman to retake his driving exam on May 8. "He's either there or he's without a license."

Guzman failed to show up for the examination before the secretary of state's testing center in West Chicago closed at noon, said David Druker, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office. He said Guzman could retake the test at any time.

Attorneys for the state argued that Guzman's "erratic and dangerous" driving record and the "suspicious circumstances" under which he obtained his commercial driver's license in 1992 made retesting imperative.

Madden's ruling came after Guzman's attorneys tried to get a court order blocking Secretary of State Jesse White's demand that he retake the examination in order to retain his license.

In their court filings, the state attorneys said a half-dozen speeding convictions and a similar number of accidents in which Guzman had been involved since 1993 provided the necessary legal grounds for White's position.

Guzman was involved in a 1994 crash that resulted in the deaths of six children after a 100-pound steel part fell from his truck. The fatal accident became the topic of an impassioned debate in the 1998 gubernatorial campaign. Democratic challenger Glenn Poshard alleged mismanagement within the secretary of state's office while his GOP rival, George Ryan, was in charge. Ryan went on to win the election.

For the full story, see the May 17 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.