City Clerk Arrested For Suspended License After Missing Meeting

EVANSTON, IL — The city clerk was was arrested late Monday night following a traffic stop in Skokie and charged with driving on a suspended license. He was also ticketed for possession of under 10 grams of marijuana, according to police. The arrest came several hours after the clerk's absence at a City Council meeting, and he blamed both on illness.

Devon Reid, 25, of the 1400 block of Emerson Street, Evanston, was pulled over around 1 a.m. Tuesday for failing to properly signal a left hand turn onto McCormick Boulevard within 100 feet. Officers soon determined he was driving on a suspended license. A search of the car turned up a small amount of cannabis, police said.

Reid said his license has been suspended since 2013 because of unpaid fines stemming from an arrest for driving without insurance when he was 19. The issue of his driver's license emerged as an issue during his election campaign – as well as the Council debate over the inclusion of partial use of a city car in his office's budget.

According to Reid, he was driving his roommate's car to Evanston Hospital to pick up his neighbor's children. He said both he and his neighbor were sick, and that was also why he missed the City Council meeting. One alderman said the Council was informed the clerk would not be in attendance for Monday's meeting during committee meetings that immediately preceded it.

Reid's win in last April's election was aided by the notoriety he gained from a previous arrest. In November 2016, he was arrested for not giving his birthday to an Evanston police officer while collecting signatures to election. One cop, Officer Amy Golubski, was given a suspension as a result of the incident, while another, Sgt. David Berman, retired during the department's investigation his conduct during the arrest.

Police also interviewed Reid following an allegation of unlawful recording by the director of Evanston's health department, who declined to press charges, Patch reported.

Reid said he had no issues with the way officers treated him during his arrest. He said he did not identify himself as the clerk. Police said the incident was recorded by officers' body worn cameras.