DuPage County state’s attorney dismisses marijuana DUI charges after faulty blood tests

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) — The DuPage County state’s attorney announced Friday that it is dismissing charges in 19 cases involving defendants accused of driving under the influence of marijuana after faulty blood testing methods were discovered at a local lab.

The ABC7 I-Team first reported on the lab, the University of Illinois Chicago Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory (AFTL), in December after a months-long investigation.

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The UIC AFTL has been accused of providing flawed test results to prosecutors in more than 1,000 cases across the state, many of them resulting in motorists convicted and sentenced to jail.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said he was dismissing the charges in these cases that relied upon accurate analysis of submitted samples and results.

“With the validity of the test results called into question, I could not, legally, ethically and in good conscience, continue the prosecution of these select cases,” Berlin said in a written statement to the I-Team.

Berlin continued, “For our justice system to function properly, the integrity of prosecutions must remain, above all else, intact and beyond reproach.”

Metro Chicago attorneys have accused the UIC AFTL of providing flawed test results to prosecutors in marijuana DUI cases that included inaccurate THC numbers, and testing results that were unable to distinguish Delta-9 THC from other commonly encountered THC isomers such as Delta-8.

The I-Team previously reported that the lab has also been accused in court filings of covering up the flaws since 2021.

In DuPage County, the state’s attorney said charges tied to the THC testing results were dismissed in two felony and 17 misdemeanor cases. Other charges in those cases that didn’t rely on the THC testing were not dropped, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

The I-Team reached out to the University of Illinois Chicago regarding these developments but the university has yet to respond by publication time.

UIC previously told the I-Team in a written statement that it had launched an internal investigation into “concerns raised regarding the testing of certain biological samples previously conducted at one of its laboratories.”

“As this is an ongoing process, we are unable to provide additional details at this time. UIC remains committed to upholding the highest standards of laboratory research integrity and compliance and to ensuring the well-being of the communities we serve,” the UIC told the I-Team in December.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

This is a developing story and will be updated. Watch the ABC7 I-Team’s exclusive reporting at 6pm CST.