Another son of former Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka has been charged with driving under the influence in Deerfield, joining an older brother who has also been charged with DUI in the village, authorities said.
While his older brother Michael P. Ditka continues a court battle in his fourth DUI case, records indicate that Mark E. Ditka was recently arrested for DUI for the third time. One of the previous DUI arrests was downgraded to reckless driving, and in the other he was found not guilty.
Mark Ditka, 48, of the 600 block of Central Avenue in Deerfield, was stopped in his black 2012 Mercedes Benz while traveling northbound on Route 43 at Kates Road in Deerfield at 3:27 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, according to a police report.
Mark Ditka had “red, blood shot eyes, slurred speech, odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath,” the report states.
After Mark Ditka was taken to the police station, he refused a blood alcohol content breath test, police said. He also declined to answer questions, police said. Because he refused to submit to a BAC test, he was required to surrender his driver’s license.
Mark Ditka was also charged with driving 50 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone, and failure to show proof of registration. He could not be reached for comment.
Court records indicate that Mark Ditka was also arrested in Deerfield for DUI and failure to notify of damage to an unattended vehicle, on May 5, 2005. That case was later amended to a charge of reckless driving on July 27, 2005.
Mark Ditka was required to pay over $2,600 in court costs and fines and serve one year of supervision.
On Nov. 19, 1997 in Buffalo Grove, Mark Ditka was charged with DUI. He was found not guilty in a bench trial on Feb. 17, 1998.
Mark Ditka’s record also includes at least five speeding arrests.
While Mark Ditka is scheduled to appear in Lake County court Oct. 9 on the latest charge, his older brother, Michael P. Ditka, is due back in court on Oct. 27.
In April, Michael P. Ditka was arrested near his apartment complex for allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol.
According to a Deerfield police report, at about midnight on April 20 a police officer saw a black Hummer with its headlights on, running in the parking lot of the Deerfield Village Centre Apartments, in the 600 block of Deerfield Road. The officer then observed the Hummer drive into the rear parking lot of West Deerfield Township, 601 Deerfield Road, before turning off its headlights.
The officer approached the Hummer to find Michael Ditka, who lives in the 600 block of Deerfield Road, sitting the driver’s seat and another person in the passenger seat.
When Michael Ditka exited the vehicle, the officer allegedly smelled a strong odor of alcohol, the report said.
The officer also alleged in the report that Michael Ditka’s eyes were bloodshot, and he had slurred speech.
The officer alleges in the report that Michael Ditka struggled to perform a field sobriety test. A preliminary breath test allegedly indicated that Michael Ditka’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.189 percent.
According to the report, the passenger allegedly told police that Michael Ditka had been at the wheel when it had pulled into the West Deerfield Township parking lot.
Michael Dikta was taken to the Deerfield police station where he declined to take another breath test. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and released on $100 cash bond.
