Lewis Gainor, Attorney at Law
An arrest for driving under the influence is typically a misdemeanor. However, there are some circumstances under which even a first offense can be a felony. For review, a misdemeanor is different from a felony in that the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor is less than one year in jail. A felony charge, however, has [...]
In the year 2013, driving under the influence remains one of the most highly politicized offenses in Illinois courts. There is no offense that will get a prosecutor fired quicker for giving a good deal than DUI. In these cases, Assistant State’s Attorneys are always wary of how it will look after they give the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The penalties for an arrest for driving under the influence in Illinois were increased in 2011. A second offense of DUI is still a misdemeanor, but the penalties are far more severe than any other misdemeanor. The law provides that a second offense of DUI is a Class A misdemeanor. The law in Illinois provides [...]
If the defendant is found guilty of driving under the influence, the court will proceed to sentencing. It is during the sentencing stage of a case that a person risks having his driver’s license revoked, and being incarcerated in jail. As of 2011, the law in Illinois allows the judge to sentence the defendant to [...]
The state legislature has amended the DUI statutes in 2011 and established additional civil penalties for people accused of driving under the influence. The law in Illinois up to 2010 provided that if a person was involved in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in personal injury or death, the police were allowed to draw [...]
The Illinois legislature has increased the penalties for traffic tickets in 2011. A new law has gone into effect that requires the Secretary of State to revoke the driver’s license of any person who is convicted of a vehicle code offense that is the proximate cause of the death of another. Most people are aware [...]
Illinois law on driving under the influence changed significantly in 2008. In that year, the legislature added additional penalties for the offense of DUI. For example, an arrest for DUI where the driver does not have a valid license turned into a felony offense. For years defendants who were arrested for DUI without a valid [...]
- by Lewis Gainor, DUI Lawyer
