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Recent Blog Posts
When Is a Monitoring Device Driving Permit Available After a DUI?
What Is an MDDP?
After a first-time DUI arrest, a person will usually be eligible for a permit that will allow them to drive, as long as they use a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID). This device is a portable breathalyzer that will be installed in a person’s vehicle. Before starting the vehicle, the driver will be required to breathe into the device, and the car will not start if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is above a certain limit. Drivers will also be required to provide breath samples at certain intervals while driving. A device will take a picture of the driver when they are providing a sample to ensure that the driver is the person being tested. A BAIID will be required on any vehicle the person drives during their period of license suspension.
First-time DUI offenders may apply to receive an MDDP, which will allow them to drive without any limitations during their period of license suspension, as long as they use a BAIID. A person must meet the following requirements to qualify for an MDDP
Will County Theft Felony Charges
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.
Top 5 Crimes Committed By U.S. Juveniles
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:
Illinois Speeding Tickets Are More Costly Than You May Think
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.
How Soon Can I Get My Drivers License Back After Revocation
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.
Understanding Reckless Driving Charges in Winter Car Accidents
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.
The Long-Term Impact of Illinois DUI Laws
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.
Common Types of Property Crimes Committed by Teenagers
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:
What is Criminal Trespass
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.
How Can a Lawyer Help Me With a Traffic Violation
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
