ILLINOIS DUI / DWI / DRUNK DRIVING

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR AN INDIVIDUAL CHARGED WITH DRIVING A MOTOR VEHICLE WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL OR DRUGS TO SEEK THE SERVICES OF AN ATTORNEY, LAWYER OR LAW FIRM WHICH IS EXPERIENCED WITH REPRESENTING AN INDIVIDUAL CHARGED WITH SAID DRIVING VIOLATIONS.

In Illinois a police officer must have probable cause to pull over an individual for the purpose of seeking to have him or her submit to a breathalizer test.  A person is driving under the influence of alcohol if his alcohol level is 0.8 or higher. 

An individual can only obtain supervision for a DUI / DWI one time in his or her life.  After a person has received his supervision for said charge the next time he is pulled over he faces the fact that if he is convicted his driver's license will be revoked.  Supervision is usually for one year or longer and requires the driver to obtain an alcohol evaluation, comply with the recommendations of said alcohol evaluation and pay a fine.

Once a person's driver's license has been revoked he must file a petition for the issuance of a driver's license which his heard before the Secretary of State.  At the hearing before the Illinois Secretary of State the applicant will have to produce a current alcohol evaluation, letters from his sponsor and other attendees at Alcoholics Anonymous and letters from his friends and family indicating that he no longer drinks alcoholic beverages.  It usually takes at least two hearings before even a restricted driving permit is issued so that the individual may drive back and forth to work.

A driver is required to submit to a breathalizer test if he is requested to do so and the failure to do so can and probably will result in the suspension of his driving privileges for a period of time.

In Illinois, anyone charged with driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol faces a mandatory suspension of their driving privileges for a period of ninety (90) days.  While the case is pending in court an individual can petition the court for the issuance of a driving permit to drive back and forth to work and said petition has to be supported by a letter from his or her employer indicating the days and hours that they work and if they need a vehicle to perform their job duties.  A driving permit the court issues would contain the days and times the person is authorized to drive and in many cases will also indicated the roads to be traveled.