If you are convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Illinois, your driver’s license will be revoked. In order to be allowed to drive legally, you must have a hearing with the Secretary of State.
There are certain steps for you to take in order to prepare for such a hearing. First, you will be required to obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation. It is likely that you were presented such an evaluation to the judge at the time of your sentencing due following your DUI arrest.
You must obtain the evaluation from a professional evaluator licensed by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) The evaluator interviews you concerning your past alcohol and drug related problems, if any, asks questions about the circumstances of your DUI arrest and ascertains other information about you.
The evaluator then plugs the information into a computer program that DASA requires all evaluators to use. The program, based upon the data inputted, generates a risk level for you, minimal risk, moderate risk, significant risk, high risk dependent or high risk non dependent.
The only way you can be minimal risk is if you have only one DUI arrest and a BAC reading of less than .15. If your BAC is at least.15 but under .20, or if you refuse to provide a breath or blood sample, you must be at least moderate risk.
If your evaluator identifies any abuse or dependency symptoms under the DSM-IV criteria, or if you have more than one DUI arrest, or if you have only one arrest but your BAC is .20 or higher, you must be at least significant risk.
If you have 3 or more DUI arrests within a 10-year period and have fewer than 3 dependency symptoms under DSM IV, you must be classified as high risk, non dependent. If you have 3 or more dependency symptoms, regardless of the number of DUI arrests or BAC levels, the Secretary of State considers you to be alcohol dependent (alcoholic).
If you are minimal risk, you will not have to complete anything other than a 10-hour DUI prevention course (“Driver Risk Education” or DRE). If you are moderate risk, you must complete the 10-hour course and 12 hours of early intervention designed to head off any potentially more serious alcohol problems.
If you are classified as significant risk, you must have the 10 hours of DRE and 20 hours of alcohol counseling. The purpose of the counseling is to identify the source of your alcohol problem and develop a plan for dealing with it before it becomes more serious.
Those classified as high risk must complete either 75 hours of outpatient treatment or a 28 day inpatient program. Most people who are found to be in need of 75 hours will also have to attend Alcoholics Anonymous or some other support program and stop drinking for at least one year before their hearing.