The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.  MADD has helped make “designated driver” a household name, decrease alcohol-related traffic deaths by more than 40 percent and pass thousands of anti-drunk driving and underage drinking prevention laws.  MADD is more than moms.  We are men, women and youth of all ages – victims and concerned citizens – all working to keep our communities safe. 

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MADD Northeast Illinois serves the greater Chicago area and surrounding counties including Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry & Will. Thanks to dedicated volunteers, MADD Northeast Illinois works in your own back yard to serve, educate and protect the public from the violent crime of drunk driving.

 Holiday Letter from Susan McKeigue, MADD Illinois Executive Director                                                                                          

Dear Friends, Family and MADD Volunteers,

Warmest wishes to you and yours for a happy holiday and healthy New Year!

We have accomplished a lot together this past year.  Passing the interlock laws, launching an aggressive court monitoring project with Illinois Department of Transportation, developing death notification training, raising visibility in the media and most importantly, serving more victims of drunk drivers.  This is a time to reflect, but not to rest!

Next year we have some wonderful opportunities coming up to be even more effective in the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving.

Please mark your calendars for June 5.  It is the date for the state wide Walk Like MADD.  Walk Like MADD is a 5k walk, to raise awareness and funding for MADD services in Illinois.  Teams of ten walk in person, or virtually.  There is a cool new website.  www.walklikemadd.org– just click on Illinois to join the fun and help get others involved.  Our goal is $40,000.  We have fifteen people already recruited to help organize the event, but we need many more.  

One of the keys to success of this event is corporate sponsorship.  There are several levels of sponsorship, but basically a corporate sponsor is one who gives cash to support the event, but also recruits their employee’s participation.  They do not have to be a Fortune 500 company to get involved.  An employee, who has been personally affected by a drunk driving crash, is often the best person to open the door to their employer.  Please let me know if you have any ideas for sponsors or contacts at businesses.  We have materials developed to present the event in a professional manner.

The City of Chicago has invited MADD to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  Over 70,000 people line up to view the parade which starts at Balboa and ends at Monroe.  It will be lead by Mayor Daley, Governor Quinn, State Senate President John Cullerton and other dignitaries.    Join the dignitaries in this annual kick-off of spring in Illinois. We will be passing out red ribbons and carrying banners with positive messages to remind the revelers not to drive if they have been drinking. 

Two pieces of legislation will be going to Springfield in February that we may be asking you to urge your representative or state senator to pass. Please stay tuned on this important effort.

Let’s keep our momentum going!  In the meantime, have a safe and happy holiday with those you love; because that is who we are working to protect.

Sincerely,

Susan McKeigue

State Executive Director 

To find out how to join our Victim Support Group, please visit our Victim Assistance page.

MADD Northeast's Betsy Carlson (far left) looks on as President Bill Clinton signs the National .08 BAC law.

Our efforts cover many different areas:

- We provide information to the public in the form of literature on a wide range of issues including underage drinking, legal issues related to DUI offenses, support and advice to parents, and a multitude of victim support materials on grief, injury and recovery.

- We support victims dealing with the tragedy of DUI crashes.

- We provide speakers for Victim Impact Panels where DUI offenders see first hand the effects that drunk driving can have.

- We offer speakers and educational materials to schools to educate our youth on the dangers of drinking and driving and underage drinking.

- We support law enforcement efforts and often can be a link to law enforcement for the public.

- We work to raise public awareness of the dangers of DUI in the greater Chicago area.