The Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS Chapter 5) governs the rules and obligations of all motorists operating a motor vehicle on the public roadways of the State of Illinois, including the DUI laws. The Illinois General Assembly, elected by the citizens of this state, writes these laws, which are known as statutes.
However, because the statutes cannot be written to cover every conceivable situation, the General Assembly has vested the Illinois Secretary of State with the “powers and duties and jurisdiction” of administering the Illinois Vehicle Code. 625 ILCS 5/2-101 In this capacity, the Secretary of State, although an elected official, functions as an administrative agency. Clingenpeel v. Edgar, 133 Ill.App.3d 507, 487 N.E.2d 1172 (4th Dist. 1985) Therefore, he is subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. (“APA”) (5 ILCS 100/1-1 et. seq.).
The APA sets out the requirement that all rules be promulgated. The APA requires that: “All rules of agencies shall be adopted in accordance with this Article.” (5 ILCS 100/5-5).
Section 5-10 of the APA requires all agencies to adopt rules of practice for formal hearings. It requires agencies to make available for public inspection all rules adopted by the agency in the discharge of its functions.
When a you are charged in Illinois with Driving Under the Influence (DUI), there is a criminal case and a driver’s license case. How the driver’s license case unfolds depends upon a number of factors.
One of those factors is whether or not you have had a DUI in the previous 5 years. If you have not, you are what is known as a “first offender”, even if this is not your first DUI. If you have had a DUI in the previous 5 years, you are a non first offender.