Winnebago County prosecutor honored with second Hero Award for DUI prevention

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Ill. (WTVO) — For the 2nd consecutive year, Winnebago County Assistant State’s Attorney received the Hero award, recognized statewide for his efforts to keep impaired drivers off the road.

“I’m a supervisor of our DUI and traffic unit at the Winnebago County States Attorney’s Office,” said Joe Lesner.

The award was presented by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a nonprofit working to prevent and end impaired driving.

“It’s humbling to get the award a second time. I took that as a compliment on behalf of our entire unit that we’re properly prosecuting cases in Winnebago County and hopefully preventing people from being the victim of DUI crashes,” explained Lesner.

In 2020, Lesner said there was a spike in traffic and DUI cases in Winnebago County. Since 2023, Lesner said those numbers have gradually declined. As someone who handled all cases, he said he’s glad they’re in a better place.

“Every single time that a child in our community is injured or killed, it gives me a lot of, strength in order to make sure that we are prosecuting our traffic related offenses and specifically, our direct DUI related offenses, strictly as possible in order to prevent these tragic incidents and to prevent parents from having to go to their kids funeral,” shared Lesner.

Executive regional director of MADD, Erin Doherty, said Lesner’s work is incredible, carrying over 5,000 prosecuted cases across his entire career. Lesner is doing his part, but so can the community. 

“Everyone knows someone that can come pick them up. Call a friend, call a neighbor, call someone in your community, and just make sure that you’re not getting behind the wheel and putting your own life or others’ lives at risk,” said Doherty.

Lesner’s one job is to ensure people know the consequences of driving under the influence. 

“‹more prosecution of DUI is to make sure that our community continues on a trajectory where we’re preventing people from getting behind the wheel,” said Lesner.