Even Illinois county prosecutors have questions and concerns about the implementation of Illinois’ tough new drunk driving laws, that goes into effect in January ‘09.

In this article, prosecutors are openly skeptical about whether or not this requirement for Breath Alchohol Ignition Interlock Devices, will curtail people from driving. The BAIID doesn’t allow a person’s car to start unless they blow into a device - essentially a rolling breathalyzer - and pass the test.

One of the primary concerns is whether this law will actually reduced incidents of drunk driving. Will the people who are the most dangerous and most likely to continue to drive after drinking actually abide by the restriction? A person could either simply not get the device installed (and obviously not have a valid license) or could still borrow a vehicle from another person.

The Interlock system creates a large bureaucracy around this law - and a significant profit center for BAIID installers and manufacterers, so it would be nice if everyone was confident it would help.

An additional concern raised by the DUI prosecutors in the article is the cost structure. Many courts have difficultly collecting fines and fees after DUI convictions as it is. There are numerous court fees and payments, including probation costs, that the court tries to collect.

Is this just setting poor and working class people up to fail? If a person absolutely has to drive to keep a job, does that mean he or she get an IID and skip paying court fees, that could result in a probation violation? Or do you skip the ignition interlock, and drive without one, risking a new criminal charge for that offense?

These concerns are legitimate, and everyone should be confident that the benefits of this new law will outweigh the costs and difficulties for the Illinois courts and our citizens.

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Charged with drunk driving? For a free consultation on Illinois new DUI laws, please contact us today.

Expungment is a common legal procedure that clears a criminal record of someone with an old conviction. Typically, the rules for expungment require that 2 years pass after a misdemeanor conviction and all related court obligations are met. If you were merely arrested and/or had your case dismissed, you may be eligible to have those events expunged much more quickly.

Many Colleges, civic organizations, and job placement agencies now hold seminars on how to complete Expungment paperwork. The reason for the increased demand? - Cheap and easy background checks on the internet make anyone’s criminal record simple to find. And a criminal charge in your past can prevent you from getting a job, or impact your life in many other ways. Even an arrest without a conviction can show up and cause you difficulty.

The paperwork for an expungment isn’t terribly complicated, but the process can be lengthy and confusing. Your request must be reviewed by a number of law enforcement agencies, and approved by a judge. Also, many offenses, such as drunk driving, sexual offenses, and most felonys are ineligible to be expunged.

If you need help with an expungment in Illinois, please contact our criminal attorneys.

In the wake of the shootings at Northern Illinois University, gun owners have proposed a new concealed carry law in Illinois. Currently Illinois is one of only two states with strict firearms possession laws that don’t permit to allow a private citizen to carry a concealed weapon.

The proposed legislation would require a person to be 21 years of age, and be certified and trained in the safe handling and use of a handgun.

The Illinois House Judiciary Criminal Law Committee deferred a vote on a law that would make using aluminum bats illegal for player under 13 years old.

Aluminum bats are considered dangerous by some, since the ball leaves the bat at a higher speed and can potentially cause injuries if players are hit.  They are frequently used by baseball teams since they are cheaper and last longer.

The proposed law would have imposed a fine of $500 to adults or coaches who knowingly allow use of the bats.

Apparently no one asked why the Illinois legislature has to step in to make it a legal matter, instead of having leagues regulate themselves if they feel they need to for safely reasons.

Under a new program sponsored by the DuPage Circuit Court Clerk’s office, courts in all 102 Illinois Counties will have an opportunity to improve sharing traffic ticket violation data, and increase violator penalties and enforcement.

More police departments across the state of Illinois are issuing and filing traffic ticket, speeding tickets, and other moving violations electronically. With this new shared database, all jurisdictions connected online to the system could have access to current ticket data within a day of issue.

This becomes an important enforcement tool, since when if A Circuit Court Clerk’s office is not aware of all of a violators traffic citations, he might be given a lesser penalty for which he is technically not eligible.

For example, a common traffic ticket disposition under Illinois law is known as Court Supervision. A traffic offender who challenges a ticket and is offered court supervision, or who agrees to a traffic safety course is given a chance for that ticket to be kept off his public record if no other violations occur within a certain time period.

However, a person is only eligible for Court Supervision once per year. But if a Court is not aware of other tickets, it may be offered in cases where the person is ineligible. This new system is designed to stop this from happening.

If you are facing a traffic ticket in Illinois, please contact us for a consultation on your legal options.

There is some significant controversy about the strict limitations on hours of operation for drivers under 18 years of age. 16 and 17 year old drivers, are commonly finding it necessary to rush home to meet the strict driving curfew of 10pm imposed by the Illinois DMV on junior operators under the graduated drivers license system.

The combination of inexperienced drivers, rushing home under stress and threat of license suspension. Experts are asking if it worth the risk of serious traffic accidents.

More info on Illinois Traffic Tickets.

Sheriffs deputies are commended for the most DUI arrests in McHenry county. On the surface, it certainly seems like a positive idea if the officers are simply vigorously and diligently enforcing the law. But it poses a number of interesting questions:

1. Are the arrests of the same quality? Do the people arrested get convicted at the same rates as those by officers who aren’t putting in these kinds of numbers? It it possible that these officers are simply arresting everyone, but maybe their arrests are only convicted at a 25% rate, whereas the overall rate is 75&. Those numbers are completely made up, but it would be interesting to know if many of these arrests are on weak evidence.
2. Are there financial incentives involved? Certainly the fees and fines collected are good for the state. Does the bonus money trickle down to the officers in the form of promotions, additional overtime, or more direct payments?

Police in southern Illinois are stepping up drunk driving enforcement and DUI patrols under a program known as Alcohol Countermeasure Enforcement or ACE patrols. Th program is partially funded by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Department of Transportation.