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Kane County Planning Drunken Driving Crackdown On St. Patrick's Day

(CBS) -- Kane County will be cracking down on people who insist on drinking alcohol and driving Thursday, St. Patrick's Day.

Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon has had five other "No Refusal" DUI enforcement efforts on previous St. Patrick's Days.

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In previous St. Patrick's Day "No Refusal" operations, McMahon says 40 people have been charged with drunken driving or related offenses. He says phlebotomists and assistant state's attorneys will be on hand at various police departments to more quickly move along the process of getting someone's blood-alcohol level by going to a judge for a search warrant if a motorist should refuse to give blood on his or her own.

McMahon says the No Refusal effort is designed to shorten the amount of time it takes to get a judge to order a blood-alcohol test from several hours to less than an hour. That means less alcohol will have been able to dissipate in a person who appears to have been under the influence.

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