Special Treatment or Just Procedure?

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Byline: John OConnor Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD Illinois Department of Corrections officials are struggling to explain whether they followed proper procedures after the drunken driving arrest of a prison officer who is the son of the agencys chief investigator.

Jeffrey Beck had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit Feb. 27 when the pickup he was driving east of Springfield left the road and smashed through two walls of a home, hurling the occupant and his easy chair into the next room, according to authorities. The homeowner was not seriously injured. Beck was reportedly treated for a head injury.

The 27-year-old Beck, a prison guard at Graham Correctional Center in Hillsboro, is the son of Larry Beck, DOCs chief of investigations and intelligence, who oversees everything from probes of employee misconduct to suppression of inmate gang activity.

Jeffery Beck has pleaded …