Published on:

By

On April 21, 2011, the Illinois Supreme Court, in a unanimous 7-0 opinion, issued a ruling important to Illinois DUI lawyers. Understanding the decision requires some knowledge of Illinois DUI law.

The state has several methods at its disposal to sustain a DUI charge. The traditional means is to prove that as a result of your consumption of alcohol, your ability to drive was impaired. This is the “actual impairment” DUI.

Prosecutors were finding it too hard to prove actual impairment. Therefore, in order to stack the deck against those charged with DUI, the Illinois General Assembly passed DUI laws that make it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, which was originally .10 but is now .08.

This number represents the percent of alcohol in your bloodstream. Prosecutions that rely upon the .08 are known as “pro se alcohol” violations.

The per se blood alcohol legal limit can be measured by actual blood samples, which is expensive and time-consuming. So, to make it easier for the state to convict you of DUI, the law allows the police to demand that you give a breath sample by blowing into a mouthpiece connected to a machine (the Breathalyzer). This machine supposedly converts the breath sample into blood alcohol level equivalents.

Sometimes the police claim that a person is under the influence of illegal drugs. This is also illegal but hard to prove as it requires proof of actual impairment from the drugs.

Likewise, you may be taking legally dispensed prescription medications. The police may suspect your medications are impairing your driving. If so, you are guilty of DUI. But again, actual impairment is hard to prove.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

If you are arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in the State of Illinois, you immediately have two cases. One involves the criminal case (jail, fines, probation etc). The other involves the driver’s license.

Your driver’s license will be suspended for a period of time, anywhere from 6 months to 3 years, depending upon your driving record and whether or not you agreed to provide a breath or blood sample to the police. If you have not had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years, you are a “first offender”. As such, your driver’s license will be suspended for 6 months if you submit to testing and 12 months if you refuse to submit to testing.

If you have had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years, you are not a first offender. You will be suspended for 1 year if you submit to testing and 3 years if you refuse testing.

A non first offender is not entitled to any sort of driving privileges. You will not be able to drive for the entire suspension period, be that 1 year or 3 years.

A first offender can, after the first 30 days of a suspension, receive a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP). If you want one, it will cost you, both in fees to the state and to the facility that installs and monitors the breath testing device installed in your ignition system (BAIID). However, with an MDDP, you can drive anywhere, at any time, for any reason.

A suspension has an automatic ending date. When that date comes, you simple pay a fee and your driving privileges will be restored. The bigger problem arises if you are ultimately convicted of the DUI charge. Now your license is revoked for 1 year, 5 years or 10 years, depending upon whether you have any previous DUI convictions on your record.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Illinois you may be eligible for an MDDP during the time your driver’s license is suspended. During a DUI arrest, you will be asked to provide the police with a breath or blood sample to determine whether your blood alcohol level exceeds the legal limit. In Illinois, as in all 50 states, the legal limit is .08.

If you submit a blood or breath sample and register above .08, or you refuse to submit, your driver’s license will be suspended. A suspension, unlike a driver’s license revocation, automatically ends when the suspension period is over.

Should this be your second DUI offense in the past five years, your license will be suspended for 1 year or 3 years. If you submit to a test, the suspension will be for 1 year. If you decline to submit, the suspension will last for 3 years.

As you can see, the law is designed to encourage you to submit to testing, in order to make it easier for the police to prove their case. You are not allowed to drive for any purpose during the 1 or 3 year suspension, not even with a restricted driving permit (RDP). This forces a non first offender to think long and hard about whether to offer a blood or breath sample.

On the other hand, if you have not had a DUI arrest in the 5 years preceding a current arrest, your suspension time will be shorter and you may be eligible for an MDDP. Notice that you may be eligible for the MDDP even if this is not your first DUI offense. You are considered a first offender for MDDP purposes so long as the arrests are more than 5 years apart, no matter how many arrests are on your record.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

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.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

“Civil rights” refers to your right to be free from overreaching government action. There was a time when someone arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) enjoyed the same civil rights as every other citizen. Not so much any longer with DUI (and a few other politically unpopular crimes).

In the realm of DUI law, we are primarily dealing with the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. To a lesser extent, there are issues of self-incrimination enshrined in the Fifth Amendment (“Miranda rights”) and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

You should understand that there are essentially two related but separate aspects to a DUI offense. The first, and the one that generally has the most immediate impact, involves driver’s license suspension, revocation and reinstatement. The other is the DUI charge, a criminal offense.

During a DUI arrest, you will be asked to perform standard field sobriety tests, including the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), the one-legged stand and the walk-and-turn test. You should also anticipate being asked to perform a portable breath test (PBT).

Although your performance on these tests will be used to determine whether or not you are arrested for DUI, you are not entitled to demand the presence of an attorney while you perform them. Your only options are to refuse to perform the tests (which can and will be used against you in a court of law) or take the tests and risk incriminating yourself.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

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.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

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.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

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.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

As any Illinois traffic and DUI lawyer knows, you must signal at least 100 feet before turning in a non-rural area. Failure to do so constitutes a traffic offense.

An arrest in Illinois for DUI often begins with a simple traffic offense. Common violations include speeding, improper lane usage (“weaving” or “swerving”), and disobeying a stop sign or stoplight.

Sometimes, there does not even have to be a traffic violation. If properly designed, police have the right to erect DUI roadblocks.

And even minor violation of the Illinois Vehicle Code can lead to a stop. This can be something as simple as a burned out license plate light, an expired license plate tag, an obstructed windshield (an air freshener hanging from the mirror) or failing to dim your headlights to oncoming traffic.

As a matter of fact, a Springfield Illinois DUI arrest began with the police pulling over the driver for not using his turn signal within 100 feet of an intersection. You probably would not be stopped in broad daylight for failing to use your turn signal. It is possible the police are using this minor offense as a pretext (“excuse”) to investigate a DUI at 11:00 in the evening.

Continue reading →

By
Posted in: DUI
Published on:
Updated:
Published on:

By

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.

Continue reading →

Contact Information

We have provided effective advice and assistance to thousands of clients facing driver's license suspensions and revocations, both in Illinois and out-of-state, including students from area colleges and universities.

1100 S 5th St
Springfield, IL 62703
Phone: 217.525.0520 Fax: 217.525.0901

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2014 – 2025, Harvatin Law Offices P.C.
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design