Illinois DUI Lawyer Blawg
The law in the state of Illinois contains specific provisions for what happens to you if you are arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). You will face various criminal consequences, such as fine and jail, as provided in 625 ILCS 5/11-501 et. seq. Furthermore, there will be various driver’s license consequences.
If you are convicted of the DUI, your driver’s license will be revoked for 1, 5 or 10 years, depending upon how many previous DUI convictions you have on your record. And if this represents your fourth or more conviction after January 1, 1999, your driver’s license and driving privileges in Illinois will be subject to a lifetime revocation 625 ILCS 5/6-208. In order to be allowed to drive again following an Illinois driver’s license revocation, you must have a hearing through the Illinois Secretary of State.
The other aspect of your DUI arrest involves an automatic suspension of your driver’s license, which will typically take effect on the 46th day following your DUI arrest. This is known as a “statutory summary suspension” or SSS. An SSS goes away without a hearing after the suspension period ends.
If you agree to submit to testing to determine your blood alcohol level and register .08 or higher, your driver’s license will be suspended for 6 months if you have not had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years (known as a “first offender”) The first offender suspension will be 1 year if you decide not to submit to testing. 625 ILCS 5.6-208.1
Someone who has had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years is a non first offender. A non first offender who registers .08 or higher will be suspended for 1 year, while one who refuses faces a 3 year suspension. A non first offender is not entitled to drive for any reason during the entire suspension period. 625 ILCS 5/6-208.1 (g)
If you are first offender, you cannot drive at all during the first 30 days of a statutory summary suspension. Thereafter, you are entitled to a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP) unless:
1. Your driver’s license is otherwise invalid (revoked, suspended, expired).
2. You were charged with a DUI that resulted in death or great bodily harm.
3. You have a previous conviction for reckless homicide.
4. You are less than 18 years of age. 625 ILCS 5/6-206.1(a)(1)- (a)(4)
In order to receive an MDDP, you must agree to install a Breath Alcohol Interlock Ignition Device (BAIID) in all motor vehicles that you operate during the SSS period. BAIID is a machine that ties into your vehicle’s ignition system and detects the alcohol content of your breath when you blow into a tube, a step that is necessary for your vehicle to start.
You must understand that the readings are registered every time you or anyone else blows into the tube, even if you are only driving it a few feet, even if it’s early in the morning, even if you only had “a few” beers. Every reading is provided to the Illinois Secretary of State. If the Secretary of State receives evidence of violations, bad things will happen to you.
Violations include:
· BAC of .05 or more
· Failing a running retest or failing to retest
· Removing the BAIID
· Tampering with the BAIID
· At least 10 unsuccessful starts in 30 days
· 5 or more unsuccessful starts in 24 hours
· Failing to take the device to the installer for the purpose of obtaining readings. 625 ILCS 5/6-206.1(h); 92 Illinois Administrative Code §1001.444 d)
A first violation results in an extension of the SSS by 3 months. A second violation results in another 3 month extension. No more than 2 extensions can be entered within during a single reporting period, regardless of the number of violations within a reporting period.
If a third violation occurs within a new reporting period, the Secretary of State is required to notify the State’s Attorney of the county in which the DUI arrest occurred of the third violation, after which the county will take your vehicle out of service for 30 days. Upon being informed of a fourth violation, your vehicle is subject to confiscation and sale, with the proceeds going to the state, leaving you with no car. 625 ILCS 5/6-206.1(j), (k)