Driver's License Reinstatement

Published on: April 1, 2011

Illinois DUI treatment requirements

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.

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Published on: March 18, 2011

How your driver’s license may be revoked without a trial

By Theodore Harvatin

In Illinois, if you are convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI), the Illinois Secretary of State is required to revoke your driver’s license. The revocation could be for 1, 5 or 10 years, depending upon your previous record.

By law, a revocation can only be undone through a driver’s license hearing with the Secretary of State. During the 1, 5 or 10-year revocation period, you may be eligible for a restricted driving permit (RDP) if you can show undue hardship.

A 1-year revocation results from a first conviction. A second conviction within 20 years of a previous arrest leads to a revocation for 5 years. A third conviction within any period of time will cost you your license for 10 years.

You must not confuse a revocation with a statutory summary suspension. A suspension in connection with a DUI arrest results from the fact that you failed to provide the police with a blood or breath sample upon request, or you provided a sample that show your blood alcohol content to be above the legal limit of .08. A suspension ends automatically once the suspension time is over.

If you have not had a DUI arrest within the last 5 years, the suspension will be for 6 months if you agree to provide a blood or breath sample and 12 months if you refuse. Restricted driving relief (hardship license) is an option.

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Published on: March 11, 2011

Driver’s license sanctions for other than DUI

By Theodore Harvatin

It is well known that Illinois will revoke or suspend your driver’s license for Driving Under the Influence (DUI, DWI) convictions. Whether you will be suspended or revoked depends upon the particular situation of your case, as does the length of the suspension or revocation.

DUI convictions can result in minimum revocation periods of 1, 5 or 10 years. Refusing to provide a breath or blood sample at the time of a DUI arrest, or providing a sample of .08 or greater, will result in a suspension of anywhere from 6 months to 3 years, depending upon your overall driving record.

A suspension is less serious than a revocation. At the end of the suspension period, the Illinois Secretary of State will restore your driving privileges without a hearing, provided your license is not suspended or revoked for some other cause.

If you commit a violation that causes a revocation of your driver’s license, you must have a driver’s license hearing in order to gain some sort of driving privileges, whether that be full reinstatement or a restricted driving permit (RDP). The hearing procedures are quite drawn out and unfriendly if you do not know what you are doing.

DUI is not the only way you can lose your driver’s license to a suspension or revocation. Some of the offenses for which the Secretary of State may take away your driving privileges come as a rude surprise to many.

Illinois law lists 45 non-DUI ways under which your license can be suspended. Most people are aware of the common ones, such as too many tickets, too many accidents driving on an expired license and passing a stopped school bus. But your license will also be suspended if you are under 21 and receive a ticket for under aged drinking as an occupant of a motor vehicle, for having a fake ID or for having an open container in your vehicle.

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Published on: February 25, 2011

Legal ramifications of driving on a suspended or revoked license due to DUI

By Theodore Harvatin

If you are arrested for DUI, your driver’s license will be suspended on the 46th day following the arrest. The suspension will be for 6 months, 12 months, or 36 months. How long will depend upon your record and whether or not you provided a blood or breath sample.

If you have not had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years, you will be suspended for 6 months if you submit to testing and 12 months if you refuse. During all but the first 30 days of the suspension, you are entitled to obtain a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP). The court system, not the Secretary of State, grants these permits.

If you have had a previous DUI arrest in 5 years, you will be suspended for 12 months if you submit to testing and 36 months if you refuse testing. During this 12 or 36-month suspension, you will not be entitled to request an MDDP. The other place to turn to for driving relief would be the Secretary of State, who issues Restricted Driving Permits (RDP) to qualified candidates. However, as someone with a previous DUI in less than 5 years, you qualify for neither an RDP nor MDDP.

If you decide to drive while your driver’s license is suspended due to a DUI, you are guilty of a Class-4 felony. This could result in prison and substantial fines. In addition, the original length of your suspension will be doubled.

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Published on: February 11, 2011

Driver in Springfield Illinois charged with DUI after crash

By Theodore Harvatin

A man in Springfield Illinois was recently charged with DUI following a crash. An officer noticed the car was speeding and gave chase. The driver fled. His car crashed and he attempted to run but was caught.

In addition to being charged with DUI, he could receive tickets for leaving the scene of an accident (“hit-and-run”), fleeing and eluding (speeding away from police in pursuit), and disobeying police instructions (running from the police). Leaving the scene and DUI are class-A misdemeanors subject to a fine of up to $2,500 and/or up to 364 days in the county jail. The other possible tickets are less serious.

Besides the criminal consequences of the DUI and leaving the scene, a conviction for either offense will result in a driver’s license revocation. For a first offense, a conviction would result in a one-year revocation. If this is the second offense within 20 years, the Secretary of State would revoke the driver’s license for 5 years. A third conviction would cause a 10-year revocation. A fourth conviction after January 1, 1999 would cause a lifetime revocation.

DUI Supervision is a possible disposition for a first DUI offense. There are many advantages to supervision. For one thing, your driver’s license would not be revoked. The second advantage is that you would not be sentenced to jail.

A revocation is caused only if you are convicted of DUI. (Supervision is not a conviction) A revocation takes away your license for 1, 5 or 10 years. When that time is over, you must have a driver’s license reinstatement hearing to restore your driving privileges.

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Published on: February 4, 2011

Illinois Driver’s License Revocation due to Felony Convictions

By Theodore Harvatin

A Springfield Illinois man recently pled guilty to drug selling charges. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Upon his release, the offender may find that he faces an Illinois driver’s license revocation. The article does not state, nor does any evidence in the case suggest, that the driver was using the drugs, or under the influence of the drugs or of any other drugs, including alcohol. You may quite logically ask, given this, how could he lose his driver’s license?

Many are familiar with the charge of Driving Under the Influence (DUI). To prove this charge, the prosecution must show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you were operating a motor vehicle at a time that your ability to do so was impaired by alcohol, drugs or any combination thereof.

It is also illegal to operate a motor vehicle anywhere within the State of Illinois with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or greater. Furthermore, you can be charged in Illinois with DUI if it is shown that you had any amount of an illegal substance (including marijuana) in your system as shown by blood, urine or breath tests.

In the case of the BAC over .08 or the illegal substance in your system, the State is not required to prove that you were under the influence. Rather, the mere presence of the drug, or the BAC level, is a violation of the DUI laws. These are known as “per se” violations.

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Published on: January 7, 2011

Costs for Springfield Illinois DUI increase in 2011

By Theodore Harvatin

Effective January 1, 2011, the fines for an Illinois DUI have increased by $250.00. Keep in mind that the fine is just one cost of a DUI. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the cost of a DUI offense can be as much as $19,000 when all expenses are taken into account.

When you are arrested for DUI, the meter starts running. Your vehicle will be towed and you will be required to pay the tow fine in order to recover it. You must post bond (bail) in order to avoid being detained in jail.

If you are found guilty of DUI, you must pay a fine. The fine varies by county. A Springfield Illinois DUI will cost $1,530 as of January 1, 2011 for a first offender who receives court supervision.

Upon receiving court supervision, you must obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation. You must then complete all the risk education and alcohol counseling that the evaluator recommends.

If your license is suspended due to refusing to take the breath test or registering over the legal limit of .08, you must, if you wish to drive during the period of the suspension, obtain an MDDP and install a BAIID at your expense. You must pay a fee to the BAIID installer and to the Illinois Secretary of State. In addition, once the suspension ends, you must pay the Secretary of State a reinstatement fee.

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Published on: December 24, 2010

Choosing an evaluator after an Illinois DUI arrest

By Theodore Harvatin

The goal of the Illinois DUI process is to prevent another DUI arrest. One way of achieving that goal is through punishment. That’s the fines, the jail time, the probation and so forth.

The second means is through rehabilitation. The thinking is that if you have a DUI, you may have a drinking problem. If you do not fix the drinking problem, you are at risk to receive another DUI.

You may need outside help. The type of help you need will depend upon the severity of your problem.

If you are arrested for DUI in Illinois and are considered an appropriate candidate for court supervision, before the judge can sentence you to supervision, you must obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation from a facility licensed by the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DASA) These evaluating agencies will interview you about your drinking and drug habits and ask other questions designed to determine what types of problems alcohol or drug use have caused in your life apart from the DUI.

If you are not eligible for court supervision and are found guilty of the DUI, you are not required by law to obtain an evaluation but many judges will demand one anyway. Furthermore, upon being convicted of the DUI, you will lose your license and have to have a Secretary of State hearing. At such a hearing, you must produce an evaluation and other documents.

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Published on: December 10, 2010

Illinois aggravated DUI, an enhanced DUI charge

By Theodore Harvatin

A Springfield Illinois driver struck and killed a bicyclist and then fled the scene. Police eventually determined that Ursula Jones was the driver and located her. At that point, they suspected she may have been drinking and/or using drugs. Therefore, they drew blood from her, to be analyzed later at the police lab.

Not knowing what the lab results would show, police initially charged Jones with leaving the scene of a crash involving death. Such a charge is a Class 1 felony upon conviction. Such a conviction does not require proof that the driver was intoxicated or was even at fault but merely that she left the scene of a crash involving death. The offender is eligible for probation, thus avoiding prison time. A conviction results in a driver’s license revocation.

The blood test results showed that Jones had a BAC greater than the legal limit of .08 and had drugs in her system. Therefore, the state filed aggravated DUI charges against her.

Aggravated DUI requires proof that the driver was under the influence of alcohol and that her intoxicated state caused a crash in which someone was killed or seriously injured. Aggravated DUI is a Class 2 felony, a lower level felony than leaving the scene.

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Published on: November 5, 2010

Waiting period for Illinois driver’s license hearings after a DUI

By Theodore Harvatin

In Illinois, there are two different types of actions that the state can take against your driver’s license due to DUI. You will receive a driver’s license suspension, a driver’s license revocation or both.

A suspension has a specific ending date. When the suspension date arrives, the suspension ends after you pay a reinstatement fee. A revocation also has an ending date but when the date comes, you do not automatically get your license back but instead must have a driver’s license hearing.

Your DUI arrest involves two cases. The first is the suspension case. The suspension arises not from the state having to prove you were driving drunk but from the mere fact that they asked you to take a breath or blood test and you either: 1) refused to take the test or 2) took the test and registered over the legal limit of .08.

Therefore, even if the DUI is dropped or you are find not guilty, your license will be suspended unless your DUI lawyer is able to convince the judge that the police had no basis to stop you, or to believe you were under the influence or to ask you to submit to a breath or blood test.

How long you will be suspended depends upon two things. The first is whether or not you submitted to a breath test or refused. A refusal always results in a longer suspension because the police want you to take the breath test and make it easier to prove their case.

The second factor is whether you have a previous DUI arrest and how long ago that arrest occurred. If in the previous 5 years you have not had a DU arrest that resulted in court supervision, a plea down to reckless driving or a breath test suspension, you are a “first offender”. If you have had a DUI in the previous 5 years, even though you received supervision or reckless driving or the DUI was dismissed but you had a breath test suspension, you are not a “first offender”.

If you are a “first offender” and you took a breath test, your license will be suspended for 6 months. If you refused the test, the suspension will be for 12 months.

In either case, you will not be able to have a hearing with the Illinois Secretary of State to obtain a work permit. However, after the suspension has been in effect for 30 days, you are entitled to petition the judge for an MDDP.

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