Richard L. Madison, the limousine driver charged with driving under the influence after being stopped Saturday night while driving 24 high school students to their prom, has only one local traffic conviction on his driving record, NBC5 Investigates has found.
A check of Chicago and suburban traffic court records shows that Madison was stopped by a Justice police officer in March of 2007 and charged with improper passing on the shoulder. He was later found guilty and paid a $75.00 fine.
Until this weekend, Madison was also a regular driver for Illinois Central Bus. According to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, he was first granted a permit to drive schoolchildren in July of 2011 and his school permit remained valid and active as of Monday.
As NBC5 Investigates reported recently in an examination of cab drivers who have permits to drive schoolchildren, Madison’s single 2007 traffic conviction would not be grounds to revoke or even review that permit. However, if Madison is eventually found guilty of the current charges stemming from Saturday’s traffic stop, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Secretary of State said the office would then immediately review his school bus permit.
