In Illinois, a DUI (driving under the influence) offense covers all types of impaired driving, from driving drunk to driving while under the influence of drugs (whether prescribed, abused, or illegal). Illinois has an aggressive anti-DUI program and arrests more than 50,000 people in an average year.
Definition of DUI
If your blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08% or higher, you are legally drunk and it is illegal for you to drive. However, if you are driving with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.08, you may still be cited for a DUI if your behavior suggests you are impaired. This is at the discretion of the officer citing you. Even with a BAC of just 0.06, you double your chance of being involved in a fatal accident.
Unlike being cited for driving with a BAC of 0.08 or above, BACs between 0.05 and 0.08 do not trigger the Statutory Summary Suspension detailed below; the penalties are instead entirely based on the outcome of the court case.
Statutory Summary Suspension
If an officer pulls you over for a moving violation and then determines that your BAC is 0.08 or more, the officer will immediately suspend your license for 180 days. You will be given a receipt that will allow you to continue driving (after your arrest, time to dry out in jail, bail, and arraignment) and allow you time to fight the arrest and suspension.
If you are convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, your license will be suspended for one year for the first offense (two years if you are under 21).
Increased Penalties for Refusing Testing
You have the legal right to refuse testing of your blood, breath, or urine. However, this immediately triggers more intense penalties under the Statutory Summary Suspension law:
If you take the test and fail it by registering a BAC above 0.08 or the presence of drugs, the suspension is for 180 days for a first offense and 12 months for a second offense.
If you flatly refuse the test, the suspension will be for one year for the first time you refuse such a test and three years (36 months) the second time.
Illinois commercial drivers license (CDL) holders face even stiffer penalties. The suspensions above are in addition to the suspension periods imposed by the court for a DUI conviction.
Ignition Interlock Devices
The first time you are convicted of a DUI offense, youll have a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) installed on your vehicle. Youll have to pay the roughly $100 installation fee, as well as the monthly rental and monitoring fees of about $110.
Related Keywords
Illinois DUI/DWI Attorneys
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Network of lawyers who represent persons charged with drunk driving offenses.
Drunk driving, DUI, DWI and Drunk Driving Defense are common words in our every day speech, which should warn us that these time-consuming and expensive offenses are becoming a growing problem in the US. Drunk Driving Lawyers will tell you that the term drunk driving has many official names including, DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), DUII (Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants), OMVI (Operating Motor Vehicle Intoxicated), and OUI (Operation Under the Influence), and other acronyms OWI, DUIL, DWUI
Drunk driving can cause:
Loss or suspension of license
Large fines
Substance-abuse treatment
Jail or prison time
Community service
Restitution
Criminal record
Restrictive probationary license programs, including ignition interlock devices and Cinderella licenses
