The Illinois Secretary of State recently published its annual DUI Fact Book. The DUI Fact Book for 2012 is available for download here. Most of the information provided by the Secretary of State remains unchanged. The reason is rather few laws were passed during the last legislative session that will go into effect in the [...]
The Associated Press interviewed me recently on new legislation in Springfield that would change parts of the vehicle code. Read the AP story from March 10, 2012. There is an important lesson about DUI laws in the article. Representative Jerry Costello, D-Smithton, introduced House Bill 5099 to make it illegal to use a cell phone [...]
An arrest for driving under the influence in Illinois is recorded, in most respects, for all time. This is a distressing fact for someone who has never been arrested before. One bad decision can make for a lifetime of regret. But it does not have to be that way. The record of a DUI arrest [...]
A person who is arrested for driving under the influence is confronted with two problems. First, he faces criminal penalties imposed by a court of law. At the present time, a first offense of DUI is categorized as a Class A misdemeanor offense. The potential penalties include up to one year in jail and a [...]
State lawmakers changed the Illinois Vehicle Code for 2012 to regulate how municipalities tow vehicles after an arrest for driving under the influence. The police practice of towing a vehicle after a DUI arrest has been generally unregulated by state law until now. In the past, each city had its own procedures for towing, the [...]
Driving under the influence is the only offense in Illinois that requires the offender to undergo an evaluation before sentencing. The evaluation is mandated by statute. There is one exception to this rule, and it shows how seriously the law treats a DUI. The only other case in which the defendant is required to have [...]
We return in 2012 for an update on the law against driving under the influence in the state of Illinois. While crimes such as domestic battery, theft, and murder have not changed in decades, the laws on DUI are changing every year. The statute that prohibits driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs remains [...]
Call the cops on a drunk driver, win $100. This is the Drunk Busters program in Illinois sponsored by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM). Drunk Busters started in Illinois in 1990 and has spread nationwide. AAIM promises to pay $100 to anyone who calls 911 to report an intoxicated driver and later the call [...]
The Chicago Tribune ran a story on drunk driving arrests on December 19, 2011. The article discusses how the numbers of arrests for driving under the influence statewide have decreased over several years. A few points from the article should be examined. First, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reports that from 2007 through 2010, [...]
A preferred outcome in many driving under the influence cases is reckless driving. The reason is reckless driving does not impact a person’s driving privileges in the same way as a DUI. The Secretary of State is mandated by law to revoke the driver’s license of any person who is convicted of DUI. The statute [...]
