DIXON – The law license of Dixon attorney Kelly Patrick Ward was suspended for 2 years, and that suspension was immediately put on hold and will not be enforced if he follows conditions set by the Illinois Supreme Court.

The action resulted from a complaint filed against the 48-year-old Ward that alleged alcohol was affecting his practice.

According to the complaint, filed in July, the administrator for the state's Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission received letters from various judges in Lee County between May 2010 and October 2011. The judges were concerned that Ward appeared in court on behalf of clients while smelling of alcohol, and that his thinking and actions were impaired.

On one occasion listed in the complaint, a Lee County judge rescheduled a hearing based on Ward's apparent impairment. That judge and another then asked Ward to submit to a blood-alcohol-level breath test, which he refused.

The terms of his probation require that, among other things, Ward not consume alcohol or unprescribed drugs and that he undergo treatment.

Ward also was found to be at fault in a hit-and-run accident that happened in fall 2012 in Dixon. In March, he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a property damage accident and was given 2 years of court probation, which also requires that he not consume alcohol or enter an establishment whose primary purpose is to sell alcohol. He also must complete an alcohol and drug assessment and attend a treatment program.