Cook County Board of Review commissioner speaks out on drunk driving case: 'I was not intoxicated'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Samantha Steele denies she was drunk the 2024 night she crashed her car into another.

The Cook County Board of Review commissioner spoke out Wednesday, after a judge found her not guilty Tuesday.

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Steele blames a Chicago political operative for trying to ruin her political career.

Steele is back to work after being cleared of a drunk driving charge, but she won't be in her office for long. The Cook County Board of Review commissioner says she lost a reelection bid because of the case against her.

"I was not intoxicated that night," Steele said.

It was a November night in 2024. Driving in Uptown, Steele crashed into a parked car. Four police officers, a doctor, nurse and a civilian testified at trial that Steele appeared to be intoxicated.

During her arrest, police body camera video shows Steele repeatedly telling officers she was an elected official.

"I was just expressing that I know my rights, right. I'm just, I'm more attuned with our rights than the average person I would think," Steele said.

And her rights included not cooperating. Steele refused to take sobriety tests. She says she was disoriented from the crash.

While not on video, one officer stated in police reports Steele made a disrespectful remark about his genitals.

"I absolutely 100% never said that," Steele said.

Steele says the officers accused her of drinking after seeing a corked half bottle of wine in her car, which she says came from a restaurant. Steele says her case became viral after political consultant Frank Calabrese posted the police body camera video.

"He's encouraged, you know, people from across the country to reach out and harass me," Steele said.

"I don't have millions of followers. I'm just one person. People made their own decisions. Things go viral because, you know, there's something to it," Calabrese said.

Calabrese was fired by Steele when he worked for the Board of Review. He has since won a big whistleblower settlement against the county.

Steele also blames the Cook County state's attorney for wasting taxpayer dollars pursuing the drunk driving case.

A statement from the office said in part, "CCSAO prosecuted the case because we believe the facts and the evidence demonstrated that the defendant violated the law."

While she lost her bid for election in the March primary, Steele has no plans of returning to politics. But, she says she won't rule it out in the future.