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Having your driver’s license revoked or suspended can be a major inconvenience or even a life-altering problem. Losing your license can effect your work, family responsibilities, and personal life. We are often asked whether having your driver’s license suspended or revoked in one state will effect your ability to get a driver’s license in another state.

Most states, including Illinois, joined in an agreement called the Driver License Compact (DLC for short). The DLC is used to facilitate communicating information regarding people’s driving records between states. This means that if your driver’s license has been suspended in your home state, it will most likely prevent you from obtaining a license in the state to which you are moving. When you apply for a license, the local DMV (or its equivalent) will first check if your name appears in the National Driver Register’s (NDR) Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS) which contains a list of names of people who have had their driver’s license revoked or suspended. If your name is listed in the NDR as “Not Eligible” you won’t be able to get a license in the given state.

If your driver’s license is revoked (not suspended) in your home state and you are a new Illinois resident, you can apply for a restricted driving permit one year from the date of the out-of-state revocation. In order to do so, you must have an administrative hearing before the Secretary of State and meet certain requirements. You are encouraged to seek competent legal representation to assist with this process.

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What is Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)?

Our clients facing Illinois DUI charges often ask us to explain Blood Alcohol Concentration (often referred to as Blood Alcohol Content or BAC). BAC is most commonly used as a measure of alcohol intoxication for legal purposes.

BAC is usually expressed as a percentage of ethanol in the blood in units of mass of alcohol per volume of blood. For example, a BAC of 0.08 means that there are 0.08 g of alcohol for every deciliter (100 milliliters) of blood.

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Beginning July 1, 2019, a first offense of texting while driving will be charged as a moving violation in Illinois. Previously, a first cell phone violation was treated as a non-moving violation, and only second or subsequent texting violations counted against your driving privileges. The old law was in effect since 2014. Of course, fines and court costs also may be imposed under the new law.

It is important to note that the law doesn’t only apply to texting. Illinois law says that a person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using ANY electronic communication device.

The Illinois Secretary of State will suspend drivers over the age of 21 for three moving violation convictions within any 12-month period. For drivers under 21 years of age, a license suspension is imposed for just two moving violation convictions within a 24-month period.
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Attorney Larry A. Davis, principal of The Davis Law Group, P.C., has been awarded the 2018 Richard H. Teas Legislative Support Award by the Illinois State Bar Association. The award acknowledges Mr. Davis’s work on behalf of the bar association’s legislative efforts in the Illinois General Assembly.

Mr. Davis has authored, co-authored and negotiated numerous laws primarily related to driving under the influence and driver’s license law. These laws include the Illinois summary suspension law, the offenses of driving while revoked and suspended, and the issuance of restricted driving permits following suspension or revocation. Additionally, Mr. Davis has spent countless hours in the analysis and negotiation of traffic and driver’s license law proposals. He has testified numerous times before the legislature on these various proposals.

This award was presented to Mr. Davis by Past-President of the ISBA and Retired Judge (Hon.) Russell W. Hartigan. It recognizes Mr. Davis’s continued leadership in the area of DUI, traffic and driver’s license law.

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The Illinois Secretary of State is cancelling large numbers of driver’s licenses and state IDs due to fraud. The Secretary of State processes and compares the photos of anyone who applies for or renews a driver’s license or state ID in a central digital database. Therefore, if you obtained a license or ID under a false name, date of birth or social security number, there is a high probability that the Secretary of State’s facial recognition system will flag your application.

While you may initially leave the facility with a temporary permit (paper license), the official plastic license or ID may never arrive. Months later, in it’s place, you may receive a Notice of Cancellation which indicates that you “committed a fraudulent offense in the making of an application” directing you to contact the Illinois Secretary of State Fraudulent Review Unit. In turn, the matter is turned over to a Secretary of State Police investigator.

It isn’t unusual for the lawyers at The Davis Law Group, P.C. to work with individuals who committed the fraudulent offense a decade or two ago. These individuals may have previously renewed their driver’s license multiple times without any issues. The technology has changed over the years and allowed even very old instances of fraud to be uncovered.

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The DUI defense attorneys at The Davis Law Group, P.C. often represent clients who were trying to be responsible and “sleep it off.” Unfortunately, this area of Illinois law is complex. In Illinois, it is unlawful for a person to be driving OR in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence.

Under Illinois law, the phrase “actual physical control” means that a person was in the vehicle with the ignition key and able to exercise physical control over the vehicle by starting the engine and causing the vehicle to move. It is not necessary that you be actually driving the vehicle.

This means if you are in your car and have the “ability” to start the car and cause it to move, you can be charged with DUI. If the car is parked, the engine is off, the keys are on the floorboard, and you are asleep, you still may be considered to have the “ability” to start the engine and cause the car to move.

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According to Illinois statute 625 ILCS 5/15-112(a), police officers only need a reason to believe that a truck is overweight in order to pull over the driver and require them to submit to the weighing of their truck. The officer can use portable or stationary scales or, if not available, the officer can require that the vehicle be driven to the nearest available scale. If the driver refuses to stop and submit his vehicle and load to weighing or removes any part of the load prior to weighing, he will be charged with this offense and face fines. In such cases, the driver could also face charges of fleeing and eluding. CDL holders need to be careful to avoid any and all offenses due to the potential impact on their driving record, insurance and employment.

Overweight laws are put in place because of the potential damage to roadways caused by overweight commercial vehicles. Excessive weight on certain roadways, which are not built to sustain such weight, can cause wear and tear or major damage.

According to 625 ILCS 5/15-113, the amount of the fine for an overweight truck shall be calculated in accordance to the schedule below (note that additional court costs and surcharges are often added to the amount of the fine). Please note: overweight fines in the City of Chicago can be found under 9-72-080 of the Chicago Municipal Code.

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Have you ever wondered what happens during a DUI arrest? While every DUI is different and varies based on a variety of factors, the following is a typical scenario for a DUI stop in Illinois:

  1. First, a police officer requests that the driver pulls over their vehicle. This can be a part of a DUI checkpoint, roadside safety check, response to a reported accident, traffic violation or if the officer has other reasonable cause or suspicion that the driver is under the influence (for more info, see our article Reasonable Suspicion and Probable Cause).

  2. The driver is asked to produce a valid driver’s license, car registration, and proof of insurance.

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A DUI arrest can be a frightening experience. Criminal penalties, high fines and a loss a driving privileges can have a devastating effect on your personal and professional life.

The Davis Law Group, P.C. is recognized as a leading Illinois DUI defense firm. Our attorneys will analyze the facts of your case and determine the most appropriate strategy to ensure the best possible result. Our legal team’s unique and personalized approach focuses on our clients’ specific needs. We are here to help.

The DUI defense attorneys at The Davis Law Group, P.C. represent clients facing DUI charges throughout Illinois and the Chicagoland area. We primarily accept DUI cases in Cook County, Lake County and DuPage County. This includes Skokie Courthouse, Rolling Meadows Courthouse, The Daley Center, Bridgeview Courthouse, Markham Courthouse, Maywood Courthouse, Leighton Criminal Courts Building at 26th & California, the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton, and the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan.

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Effective January 1, 2016, the Secretary of State began to enforce a new law requiring that revoked drivers with 2 or more DUI convictions who were granted a restricted driving permit (RDP) after an administrative hearing, drive on a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID) for a period of 5-years before applying for full reinstatement.

Unfortunately, the Secretary of State made the decision to apply this law retroactively. As a result, applicants whose DUIs occurred before the effective date of the new law and, in many cases years, decades earlier, are subject to the new law, only because they failed to apply before the change in the law went into effect.

Many of our clients have asked for the reasoning is behind the law. The law was proposed by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM), which claimed that a study they had found demonstrated that until a person drives successfully for at least 5-years on a BAIID device, the chances that the person will return to abusive drinking is unacceptably high. However, further investigation demonstrates that the study relied on by AAIM says nothing of the sort.

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Client Reviews

★★★★★
I wanted to let you know that I finally got my license back today. I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. You did an amazing job and helped another person turn their life around. I will forever be indebted. Rest assured that I will refer anybody that I hear is in trouble to you guys. Thank you again. All the best.
★★★★★
I want to extend my sincere gratitude for the success in getting my charges reduced. It has been a rather traumatic experience for me. Though I try to keep an optimistic outlook, it didn't seem possible. But you guys pulled it off and I couldn't be more grateful. This has been a great weight lifted off my shoulders. D.F.
★★★★★
I would like to take this time to thank you for a job well done. I received my full reinstatement documents today for full driving privileges. This took me by surprise. I did not expect to see the results this fast. I just want to say that I am blessed to have a very good lawyer like yourself to guide me through the process... I am very grateful. You're the best. Thanks again. G.B.
★★★★★
My special thanks for your help, guidance, and support during a most difficult time. You came recommended as "the best" and you lived up to your reputation! I wish you a lovely holiday season and a new year of challenges overcome, new joys experienced, and much fulfillment realized. All good thoughts your way. S.S.
★★★★★
I am very grateful for your work and representation. Although it is difficult for me to truly express my gratitude through e-mail, I hope you can still understand how thankful I am that we were able to dismiss my case on the first court date. I am very pleased with the outcome. Again, thank you very much for your time. Please enjoy the rest of your week. D.K.
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Contact Information
Northfield Office (Main Office)
191 Waukegan Rd
#305
Northfield, IL 60093
Main: (847) 390-8500Fax: (847) 390-8100
Chicago Office (By Appointment Only)
22 W Washington St
#1500
Chicago, IL 60602
Main: (847) 390-8500Fax: (847) 390-8100
We serve the following localities: Cook County including Chicago, Rolling Meadows, Skokie, Bridgeview, Maywood, and Markham; Lake County including Waukegan, Mundelein, Park City, and Round Lake Beach; DuPage County including Wheaton, Addison, Downers Grove, and Glendale Heights; and Will County including Joliet and Bolingbrook.
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