Illinois has a “four strikes” lifetime driver’s license revocation if you meet certain criteria. The factors that must be present for the lifetime revocation to apply are:
1) Your Illinois driver’s license is revoked because of a DUI.
2) You have four (4) or more DUI convictions. This includes convictions that occurred in Illinois, as well as any that occurred in another state. However, court supervision is not a conviction and will not count towards the four.
3) At least one of the DUI offenses occurred after January 1, 1999.
If the above conditions exist, Illinois will not be able to provide you with a hearing to ask for any type of driving relief, either reinstatement or a Restricted Driving Permit (RDP). What this means is that you will never be allowed to drive in Illinois for any reason.
Furthermore, if you attempt to obtain a license in any other state, or if you have a license in another state that they will not renew due to an Illinois hold, Illinois will not release the hold. As a result, your home state might not issue you a license.
Illinois can only issue a restricted driving permit to an Illinois resident, or to one whose job requires driving in Illinois. Illinois cannot issue a permit to someone who lives, or intends to live, in another state.
If you are an Illinois resident who is not subject to the four strikes rule but are not eligible to ask for full reinstatement, you may be able to request an RDP if you can prove undue hardship. To do so, you must show that your inability to drive has affected your job and/or your income.
Some examples of hardship would exist if, because of your inability to drive, you have been:
absent from, or late arriving to, work on a frequent basis;
deprived of the chance to earn overtime pay;
threatened with being fired if you do not obtain an RDP;
disciplined;
passed over for a promotion or for a better-paying job; or,
fired from, or been unable to accept, a job.
If you are member of a union, hardship would exist if you missed jobs available through the Hall because you could not drive to the jobs, or turned down so many jobs that the Hall quit calling you or calls you only as a last resort.
Another type of hardship exists if an employer has promised to hire you if you obtain a permit. Those are called prospective employers.
It is not enough that someone, whether you or another person, or both, has been inconvenienced because you cannot drive, or that your employer says your not having a license is a hardship on them, or that you are “worried” about your job, or that whoever gives you a ride is in poor health and may not be able to keep driving you.
While not required, it would be helpful to your case if you could obtain a letter from your employer supporting your claim of hardship. Letters that sing your praises, comment about your reliability, etc. are NOT what you want.