26th Revoked License Charge Gets Lake County Man Prison Time

ROUND LAKE BEACH, IL — Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim announced Monday that a Round Lake Beach man has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to his 26th charge of driving while his license was revoked, according to the state's attorney's office. Steven Knutson, 62, of the 100 block of South Channel Drive, was also ordered to spend two additional years on mandatory supervised release when he's done serving his sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections, the release said.

The state's attorney's office said Knutson turned himself over to the courtroom deputy after his court appearance Monday morning so he could start fulfilling his prison sentence.

"It's a shame that it had to come to this point for Mr. Knutson to understand that driving is a privilege, not a right," Nerheim said. "I commend the Round Lake Beach Police, their village attorneys and attorneys from the Lake County State's Attorney's Office for doing what is necessary to ensure Mr. Knutson no longer gets behind the wheel of an automobile."

A police officer from Round Lake Beach was in the 100 block of Rollins Road when he saw a Chevy pickup hit a parked car at around 4 p.m. on March 11, according to the news release. The officer initiated a traffic stop and issued a citation to Knutson for driving on a revoked license, officials said.

Related: Man Charged With 26th Driving With Revoked License Offense

During a follow-up investigation by the Round Lake Beach village attorneys, it was discovered the Illinois Secretary of State's office had revoked Knutson's drivers license for life due to a previous charge of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol in 2010, as well as multiple previous offenses of driving on a revoked license. That included 16 offenses in Cook County, four in Winnebago County and three in Kane and Lake counties, according to a news release.

Of the 26 total offenses, Knutson was convicted 24 times between 1982 and 2004, and the most recent 2019 charge and a charge in Fox Lake in 2018 remain pending, the state's attorney's office said.

On Monday, Knutson was ordered to pay $362.60 in restitution to the owner of the truck he hit and damaged back in March, and received seven days' credit for time he previously served in Lake County Jail prior to pleading guilty, according to the news release

Knutson could have been sentenced to between three years and seven years if he was found guilty of driving on a revoked license at trial, the release stated.