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Will County Theft Felony Charges

 Posted on March 15, 2020 in Uncategorized

It is all too easy in Illinois to find yourself facing a felony theft charge. The following types of theft are felony crimes:

  • Any theft over $500 in value. (A simple theft of $500 or less is a Class A misdemeanor);
  • A theft of any value committed in a school or place or worship;
  • A theft of government property of any value;
  • A theft by deception of any value, wherein the offender obtains a rent payment or security deposit by posing as a landlord or landlord’s employee;
  • A theft of any value if you have a previous conviction for theft; and
  • Possession of stolen goods with knowledge or reason to believe the goods were stolen.

Penalties for Felony Theft in Illinois

Depending on the value of the stolen goods, you could be facing from one year to decades in prison. While probation is a possible sentence in lieu of prison in most cases, a theft of property valued at over $500,000 is a non-probationable felony.

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Top 5 Crimes Committed By U.S. Juveniles

 Posted on March 06, 2020 in Uncategorized

Many parents do not want to believe that their child has done something wrong, let alone committed a crime. According to crime statistics published by the FBI, there were 481,006 juvenile offenders in 2016 across the United States. Juvenile crime is at the lowest it has been in years, but it still is an area of concern. Juvenile cases can be more complicated than adult cases because of the consideration that the offenders are young and have the potential to be reformed.

Juvenile Court Vs. Adult Court

The first consideration that courts must make when juveniles are accused of committing a crime is whether or not the offender should be tried in juvenile court or adult court. Offenders who are under the age of 18 and have the potential for reform and making better decisions will likely be tried in juvenile court. Some crimes, such as murder, will automatically move to adult court if the offender is over the age of 13.

Juvenile Crime

Juveniles are more likely to commit certain types of crime than others. The FBI runs the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which captures the details of certain crimes and provides crime statistics to the public. The NIBRS also breaks down the crime incidents into age categories, one of which includes juveniles. In 2016, the top juvenile crimes were:

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Illinois Speeding Tickets Are More Costly Than You May Think

 Posted on February 28, 2020 in Uncategorized

If you drive a lot, odds are you have been stopped for a traffic violation at least once. Illinois law enforcement agencies made 2.3 million traffic stops in 2017, affecting more than one-fourth of the state’s population of 8.5 million licensed drivers (although certainly some stops would have involved non-residents).

About two-thirds of all Illinois traffic stops were for moving violations, with the remainder related to mechanical or vehicle registration issues. Luckily for the drivers, only about 40 percent of all traffic stops resulted in a ticket.

However, if you are one of those 40 percent who get a ticket, the penalties may be much higher than you anticipated. Most people think of speeding, for example, as a very minor offense, with a $140 fine at most. But many drivers are still not aware of a change in Illinois law that took effect in January 2014 which significantly increased the penalties for some speeding tickets.

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How Soon Can I Get My Drivers License Back After Revocation

 Posted on February 20, 2020 in Uncategorized

If your Illinois driver’s license has been revoked, you are probably anxious to get back behind the wheel. But because the driving offenses that lead to revocation are so serious, the state does not make it easy to get your license back.

How Soon Can I Start the Reinstatement Process?

For purposes of illustration, we will assume your license was revoked for a minimum of one year. (Your actual revocation could be five years or even longer.)

As a general rule, you can apply for a restricted driving permit (RDP), sometimes referred to as a hardship permit, any time after the revocation is entered on your record.

You can apply to get your license fully reinstated one year from the effective date of revocation. However, you can and should start preparing well in advance for the hearing that will be necessary to get your license back. See our page on Getting Ready for Your Hearing for details.

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Understanding Reckless Driving Charges in Winter Car Accidents

 Posted on February 18, 2020 in Uncategorized

It is a rare Illinois driver who has not been in or at least seen a winter driving accident. Snow, ice, and prairie winds combine to create treacherous road conditions, resulting in collisions, spin-outs, and skids into ditches. When it happens to us, our first words are likely to be, “It was an accident!” But when law enforcement becomes involved, many of these accidents can result in traffic tickets and even arrests. Here are some recent Illinois incidents we can all learn from:

Driving Too Fast for Weather Conditions

On January 3, 2018, in Champaign County, a 21-year-old driver rolled her car and crashed into a ditch. After being released from the hospital, she was arrested by Illinois state police, who said she was driving too fast for the weather conditions. She was cited for improper lane usage, illegal transportation of alcohol, driving with a suspended license, and driving an uninsured vehicle. Drivers should note that, as of January 2017, Illinois law allows officers to impound a vehicle if a driver has previously been convicted of driving without insurance and is cited for this offense a second time within a year.

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The Long-Term Impact of Illinois DUI Laws

 Posted on February 18, 2020 in Uncategorized

In 1997, Illinois reduced the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers from .10 to .08, the standard now used by all 50 states. Today, 20 years later, lawmakers are thinking about further reducing the legal blood-alcohol limit from .08 to .05.

If you are wondering why, you are not alone. It is perfectly reasonable to ask questions like how much safer did the roads really get after the change from .10 to .08, relative to the cost to society of law enforcement and the severe penalties paid by people convicted of DUI? How strong is the rationale for further reducing the legal limit to .05?

In this post, we will look at how the change from .10 to .08 impacted DUI arrests and fatalities in Illinois over the past 20 years. In a separate post, we will look deeper into the debate over the .05 standard.

Deaths in Alcohol-Impaired Crashes Have Declined in Illinois

The Illinois law reducing the legal blood-alcohol level from .10 to .08 took effect July 2, 1997. The year before it took effect, 534 people died in Illinois car crashes involving at least one driver who was at or over the 0.08 level. In 2016, 272 people died in alcohol-related crashes in Illinois. Thus, the annual number of drunk driving deaths in Illinois has been cut in half, resulting in 262 fewer deaths. This may not be entirely attributable to the .08 change, though. Other factors have likely played a role, such as the 2000 law requiring drivers found guilty of DUI to have blow-to-drive devices installed in their vehicles.

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Common Types of Property Crimes Committed by Teenagers

 Posted on September 26, 2019 in Uncategorized

According to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission (IJJC), there were more than 32,000 juvenile arrests in Illinois alone in 2015. These arrests stem from a variety of crimes, from violent crimes like assault or battery, to common juvenile crimes such as underage drinking or drug use. Another common area of crime that juveniles tend to commit is property crime. Property crime refers to crimes that involve the theft or destruction of someone else’s property. These crimes may seem trivial when compared to crimes like battery, but they can still result in serious charges and penalties.

Criminal Trespassing

There are a variety of ways you can be charged with criminal trespassing. According to the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012, in its most basic form, trespassing occurs when a person knowingly and without the lawful right enters or remains within or on a building. You can also be charged with trespassing if you:

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What is Criminal Trespass

 Posted on September 13, 2019 in Uncategorized

Illinois law defines three types of criminal trespass: to real property, to a residence, and to a vehicle. Charges of criminal trespass in Illinois often accompany other charges such as burglary, battery, or criminal damage to property (vandalism).

Criminal Trespass to a Residence

You commit the offense of criminal trespass to a residence when you knowingly enter or remain in a residence without authority. If you know that a resident is present, the crime is a Class 4 felony; otherwise, it is a Class A misdemeanor (720 ILCS 5/19-4). If you accidentally enter a home thinking it is the location of a party to which you were invited, and you leave when you realize your mistake or when asked to leave by the homeowner, you would not be charged with criminal trespass to a residence. However, if you crash a party and refuse to leave, you could be charged with criminal trespass. If you enter a residence with the intent to commit a crime, you could instead be charged with burglary.

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How Can a Lawyer Help Me With a Traffic Violation

 Posted on September 12, 2019 in Uncategorized

In the state of Illinois, it is considered a privilege to be permitted to operate a vehicle on public streets and highways. Driving is not considered to be a right. Revoking a right is extremely difficult and generally involves serious circumstances, such as the revocation of a person’s right to bear arms after that person has been convicted of a violent felony. Revoking a privilege is much easier.

The privilege of driving is one that can be revoked in Illinois for a variety of reasons including being convicted of violations of the Illinois Vehicle Code. You could lose your ability to drive for a single serious infraction or for a cumulative number of lesser convictions in a short period of time. If you have a recently received a traffic ticket, it is important to understand how an attorney could help you.

Traffic Violations are Expensive

Most traffic violations are punishable by a fine determined by the state. However, there are usually additional fees that go along with a violation, not to mention a potential increase in auto insurance premiums triggered by the violation as well. All told, the average driver in Illinois who receives a ticket will pay about 6.2 times more than the fine itself. For example, if the fine for a particular offense is $100, it will cost a convicted driver about $620 including additional fees and costs.

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Leaving the Scene of an Accident Can Result in Criminal Charges

 Posted on September 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

The fight or flight response is a natural physiological process in our bodies that kicks in when we experience something that is frightening or stressful. The term “fight or flight” refers to the two options our ancestors had when faced with danger and the two options we often have when faced with danger today. Imagine you are driving and you completely miss the stop sign, driving out into the intersection and slamming into someone else who was also in the intersection. You have two choices: either get out of your vehicle and face the situation at hand or remain in your vehicle and drive away as fast as you can. Legally, you are required to do the former, as fleeing the scene of an accident can result in misdemeanor or even felony charges.

Leaving the Scene of a Property-Damage Only Accident

If you get into an accident that only damages the other driver’s vehicle, you are still required by law to stop. When you stop, you must exchange information with the other driver, such as your name, address, vehicle registration number and insurance information. You are not permitted to leave the scene of the accident without providing this information, though you are permitted to move your vehicle out of traffic or to a safe place that is away from the accident site, as long as you still exchange information.

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