What are the penalties for a first-time DUI in Illinois?

So you got a DUI. Now what?

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Illinois is a Class A misdemeanor on the first offense. The punishment for a Class A misdemeanor can be a sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine of $2,500. However, the court is permitted to sentence you to probation instead of jail.

Illinois DUI is a distinct offense in that there a number of mandatory minimum requirements in sentencing. For example, all DUI offenders are required to submit to a substance abuse evaluation performed according to standards set by the Illinois Department on Alcoholism & Substance Abuse (DASA). All DUI evaluations are the same, statewide. The court will order you to participate in whatever counseling is recommended.

The other very important distinction is that the Secretary of State will take action against your driver's license for a DUI offense. Your driver's license is priority number one in a DUI case.

An arrest for DUI will result in a statutory summary suspension of your driver's license. It is statutory because it is required by statute, and summary in the respect that it occurs automatically, without a hearing.

Your license will be suspended 46 days after the date of the arrest. The length of the suspension will be determined by whether you are a "first offender."

The issue is not whether you have had a prior DUI. To be a first offender for the summary suspension means you haven't had a DUI or summary suspension in the last five years.

The following rules apply to first offenders:

1. If you take the breath test and the result is 0.08 or more, your license is suspended for six months.
2. If you refuse the breath test, then your license will be suspended for 12 months.

You have a right to a hearing on the suspension. You must file a petition to rescind summary suspension in court. You are entitled to a hearing within 30 days, and failure to have a hearing for any reason results in a rescission of the suspension. So if the cop doesn't show up for court, you win just by filing early.

Generally, the grounds for challenging a suspension are the following:

1. No moving violation for the traffic stop.
2. No probable cause for the DUI arrest.
3. No reasonable grounds to believe you were driving under the influence.
4. The police officer didn't warn you that your license would be suspended.
5. You blood alcohol content wasn't 0.08 or more.
6. You are accused of refusing the breath test but you didn't refuse.

If you can prove any of the above, you get your license back.

The next issue in the DUI is the Class A misdemeanor aspect. If you forget everything you've read here, just don't forget this:

A conviction for the offense of driving under the influence will caused your driver's license to be revoked.

That is the rule that governs the case. You absolutely must avoid a conviction for DUI. A conviction will cause the Secretary of State to revoke your driver's license for a minimum period of one year.

But the revocation doesn't end at one year. When your license is suspended and you reach the term date of the suspension, you are reinstated upon payment of a reinstatement fee. A revoked license, on the other hand, requires you to appear before the Secretary of State for a formal hearing.

The Secretary of State has its own court system for formal hearings. You will have to submit  an application for hearing, a current substance abuse evaluation and proof of treatment, testify under oath, and prove that you should be reinstated.

Approximately 80% of people whose licenses are revoked are DENIED reinstatement at the formal hearing.

Until the Secretary says otherwise, you're revoked. That's why, at least in theory, a revoked license can last indefinitely.

How do you avoid conviction? Court supervision.

If you've ever had a traffic ticket and gotten court supervision, it's actually the same thing. Court supervision is a special sentence in Illinois that results in the dismissal of the charge without a conviction after a period of time. Court supervision is critical for first-time DUI offenders.

But it's not a given. It is a matter of discretion for the court. So don't think you have a right to supervision, because you don't.

In Cook County, supervision is reporting, which means you will have to report to a probation officer during the term of supervision. The typical supervision term in Cook County is 18-24 months.

In DuPage County, the State does not offer supervision on DUI offenses. Ouch. But there are ways to get it with the assistance of a lawyer.

Supervision in Kane County sometimes requires house arrest (wearing an ankle bracelet) for a few months.

Lake County supervision is non-reporting and lasts typically one year.

Court supervision may seem like a really good deal. In fact, there are a lot of lawyers who want your money and will tell you this.

Think again.

The risk with court supervision is that if you violate any of the conditions, you are subject to re-sentencing. The court will revoke your supervision and re-sentence you to a conviction. And then, bang. Your license is revoked.

If you think about it, that's 1-2 years in which you're always going to be looking over your shoulder, worrying about what if.

So, my advice to you is to pick the right lawyer. Whether it's me or somebody else, make sure you've got a lawyer who will actually fight for you. Any mope can walk into court, do little to no work for his client, take his client's money and plea him out.

But the lawyer isn't stuck with the consequences. You are.

Like a lot of things in life, you get what you pay for.

Lewis Gainor, the author of this blog, is a lawyer with a special practice dedicated to defending clients accused of DUI. If you were arrested for DUI, you need a skilled and knowledgeable attorney. Call Lewis Gainor right now at (224) 688-9118.