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If you fail to pay fines or court costs for a traffic ticket, the court may request that the Illinois Secretary of State to place a hold on your driver’s license which would prevent you from renewing an expired license or obtaining a license for the first time. This hold is also referred to as a “Failure to Pay Stop”. Technically, it is not a license suspension. In order to clear your driver’s license, you must satisfy the amount due to the court and/or file a motion to reopen the case.

You may attempt to contact the specific courthouse where the ticket is assigned by phone to determine the amount owed and your payment options. However, it may be beneficial to appear in-person at the Clerk’s Office located within the courthouse to obtain this information.

Once you pay the amount owed on the traffic ticket, you should obtain a Failure to Pay Fines Receipt for the Illinois Secretary of State. This receipt should be submitted to the Secretary of State either in-person or by mail. You may rely on the courthouse to notify the Secretary of State, but this can take additional time. However, in Cook County, the Clerk’s Office will notify the Secretary of State electronically and you do not need obtain and submit the paperwork yourself. Once it is processed by the Secretary of State, the hold will come off of your driving record.

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If you failed to appear in court or respond to a traffic ticket within the required timeframe, the court may direct the Illinois Secretary of State to suspend your driver’s license. The type of suspension is referred to as a “Failure to Appear” suspension or as an “09” suspension (625 ILCS 5/6-6-306.3). In order to reinstate your driver’s license, you must resolve the traffic ticket, provide proof to the Illinois Secretary of State, and pay a reinstatement fee.

Often, resolving the old ticket will require you, or your attorney, to file a motion with the court. The case will have to be brought back into court, where you will appear in front of a judge. Every county and courthouse has rules and procedures that must be followed. Often, it is beneficial to hire legal representation to ensure that the process is handled properly and efficiently. Depending on how long ago the traffic ticket was issued, the file may even need to be ordered by the Clerk.  Also, your motion may need to be filed days or weeks in advance of seeing the judge. As a result, the process may require multiple court appearances. An attorney familiar with the specific courthouse will be able to guide you through the process and handle many of the necessary steps on your behalf.

After the case is resolved, the Clerk’s Office may provide you with a certified transcript or receipt acknowledging the disposition of the case. This document should be submitted to the Illinois Secretary of State to ensure proper removal of the Failure to Appear suspension. In addition, the Secretary of State will require the payment of a reinstatement fee.

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The number of speeding tickets issued by Illinois State Police troopers has dropped significantly over the past 5 years according to a report by the State-Journal Register. The number of speeding tickets decreased by 40% from 211,857 in 2010 to 126,959 in 2015. In 2016, it is estimated that the Illinois State Police will issue approximately 104,000 speeding tickets.

The article analyzed data through Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act.

While the number of speeding tickets has declined, the number of traffic fatalities is up from 5 years ago. For the first time since 2008, the number of traffic fatalities in Illinois has surpassed 1,000. However, the number of fatalities is significantly lower than 15 years ago. In 2001, there were 1,414 fatalities and in the 1970’s, the numbers were typically around 2,000.

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A  Portable Breath Test (PBT) is commonly used by police officers in the field to establish probable cause to arrest a driver for DUI. Recent Illinois caselaw says that a driver must have a choice to take or refuse a PBT. The driver must provide some form of consent prior to taking a PBT. Although the officer is not required to inform the driver that he or she may refuse the breath test, the driver must have a reasonable opportunity to do so.

In People v. Taylor (2016 IL App (2d) 150634), the defendant was given less than 2 seconds after being told “what I want you to do is take a deep breath and blow…” to question what he was being told by the officer before the officer placed the device at a minimum within 1-2 inches of the driver’s mouth. In fact, the officer testified that he placed the stem of the device directly in the driver’s mouth. The Court found that this did not present the driver with a reasonable opportunity to refuse the test. As a result, the court suppressed the result of the PBT based on noncompliance with the PBT statute.

While a portable breath test may be used to establish probable cause, a PBT result is not admissible evidence at trial. It should be noted that additional procedures must be followed for the use of an evidentiary breath test offered at the police station, which may be admissible at trial.

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“Second chance probation” is a sentence in Illinois that allows certain offenders to clear a conviction from their record after serving at least two-years of probation (730 ILCS 5/5-6-3.4). This law, which became effective January 1, 2014, allows the court to sentence the defendant to probation without entering a judgement. Those who have previously been convicted (i.e. probation or conditional discharge) of any felony offense are not eligible for this sentence. In addition, this sentence is not available for violent offenders or defendants who have previously plead guilty or who have been found guilty of a violent offense. Second Chance Probation may be offered to defendants charged with certain probationable felony offenses such as possession of a controlled substance, possession of cannabis, theft, retail theft, and criminal damage to property.

When a defendant is sentenced to Second Chance Probation, the court will order a minimum period of 24-months probation and defer any further proceedings. Defendants sentenced to Second Chance Probation, in addition to other conditions, may not violate any criminal statute, may not possess a firearm, must make restitution if required, must obtain or attempt to obtain employment, must pay fines and costs, must attend educational courses, must submit to periodic drug testing, and must perform a minimum of 30 hours of community service.

If successful, the court will discharge the defendant and dismiss the proceedings. The defendant may be eligible for expungement of the arrest after 5 years.

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Illinois law allows drivers relocating to Illinois to drive on their valid driver’s license from their home country or state for ninety (90) days. CDL holders have a reduced window of thirty (30) days to obtain an Illinois CDL. “International driver’s licenses” are not valid in the State of Illinois. International driving permits are issued by the driver’s home country and simply translate the foreign license to make it easier for United State’s officials to read. However, international driving permits still fall under the same rules as foreign driver’s licenses and are only valid for ninety (90) days.

Students at Illinois colleges and universities are allowed to drive on a valid driver’s license from their country or home state while enrolled in school. This is also true for the spouse and/or children of students.

International students who wish to obtain an Illinois driver’s license may be eligible to do so. Students with a valid social security number may apply for an Illinois driver’s license. Students without social security numbers may apply for a Temporary Visitor’s Driver’s License (TVDL). TVDLs are issued by the Illinois Secretary of State to those persons unable to obtain a social security number. It is important to note that TVDLs cannot be used for identification purposes.

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Governor Rauner has signed into law a change to the Illinois DUI law involving driving while under the influence of cannabis (marijuana).

Until this change, it was illegal to drive with any amount of cannabis in a person’s system. It did not make any difference if the person was under the influence or impaired by the drug. Additionally, the law did not distinguish between the active ingredient in cannabis (THC) and the inactive ingredient (THC-COOH). It is only the active ingredient that causes impairment. This law was commonly referred to as a ‘zero-tolerance’ DUI law.

Under the new law, it is no longer illegal to drive with cannabis in your system unless you are impaired (under the influence) by the substance. Basically, there are two ways a person can be found guilty under the new law:

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Under Illinois law, the state’s attorney may petition on behalf of a local law enforcement agency, for the seizure of an automotive vehicle when it is used in the commission of any serious felony crime. Whether the petition is granted is solely in the judge’s discretion. In addition to drug crimes, cars may be seized for DUI, driving on a revoked license based on DUI, gambling and stalking. Of the 126 vehicles seized by the Naperville Police Department between 2012 and 2015, only 26 were involved in drug crimes.

Seized vehicles are typically sold at auction but may be used in undercover operations or training. Auction proceeds go to the police department responsible for the arrest as well as the municipality or county where the arrest occurred. Naperville made almost $170,000 off of the cars seized between 2012 and 2015, with almost $17,000 going to the police department.

Last year alone, DuPage County seized 405 vehicles. So far this year, DuPage has seized 189 vehicles, according to a spokesman for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

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By the end of July 2016, Illinois driver’s licenses and ID cards will no longer be issued at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Instead, the DMV will be issuing temporary paper cards with a photo on it, which the applicant will have for 45 days while multiple fraud checks are being performed at an off-site state facility. The new cards will be equipped with anti-counterfeiting security that will help prevent individuals from using another’s identity. After these changes are put into place, Illinois will be 84 percent compliant with the federal mandate, REAL ID, which is designed to prevent fraud and identity theft. The new license and ID cards will have a new, upgraded design as well.

Illinois Rolls Out New Design, Process for Obtaining Licenses, State ID Cards, www. nbcchicago.com, May 17, 2016

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Kim Foxx will be the democratic candidate for Cook County State’s Attorney, defeating current State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. Alvarez came under fire after waiting a year to file murder charges against an officer accused of shooting teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times. Charges were pressed only after a judge ordered the squad-car video be released to the public. Many accused Alvarez of a “cover-up.”

Foxx previously worked as chief aide to the Cook County Board President and worked in the juvenile division of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office for years. In November, Kim Foxx will face-off against Republican nominee Christopher Pfannkuche.

Dorothy Brown, who is serving her 4th term as Cook County Circuit Court Clerk, will be the democratic nominee in the upcoming election despite the federal probe into her office. While Brown did not have a majority of the vote (48 percent), she dominated over the other candidates, Michelle Harris and Jacob Meister had 31 percent and 22 percent, respectively. In October of last year, the Democratic Party announced they would no longer endorse Dorothy Brown, but would instead endorse Harris. Brown will challenge Republican nominee Diane Shapiro, who ran unopposed.

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