1. c
I Just Got a DUI in Illinois. Now what?
By acting immediately, consulting withan attorney, and ultimately filing a key petition within thefirst 2
weeks(30 days ormore prior to yourfirst court date),a first time DUI Offendersincreasestheiroddsof
the bestoutcome!
By Nick Antonacci
On March 30, 2016
If you receivedthe DUIinIllinois,yourfirst move shouldbe toreadthis article! Also,startinterviewing
DUI attorneys!
Thisarticle isintendedforpeoplewhohave neverbeenarrestedforaDUI before,or,if youwere
arrested, have been acquitted (were foundNotGuiltyorhadthe chargesdropped) of all DUI related
Criminal charges. If thisisyour 2nd
or additional DUI,thisarticle,while still helpful, willbe lessrelevant
to you– as it focusesonpenaltiesanddeadlinesmore importantforFirstTimers.
Aftergettingarrestedandprobablyhavingyourcartowed,youwill receive2cases againstyou – 3
casesif the DUI occurred inthe Cityof Chicago. One of the CasesisCivil – andit involvesthe suspension
of yourdriver’slicensefor6 to 36 months – whichdependsonfactorslike whetherthere wasablow
and if thisisthe firstSSS. ThisCivil case isquite time sensitive. The Criminal case, islesstime sensitive
and will notbe focusedonas muchduringthisentry. Lastly,the Chicagotowingcase,is alsotime
sensitive,inwhichapersononlyhas15 (arguably36) daysfile a “RequestforHearing”.
START MOVING A.S.A.P.
Many people are indenial forweeksafterreceivingtheirfirstDUI – and won’tevenbegintothinkabout
theircase.Wrong answer– especially if itistheirfirstDUI! You’re alreadynotlike this,since your
readingthisarticle! Youneedtostart interviewingattorneys withthe firstfew days. Withthe assistance
of an attorney,you alsoneedtofile aPetitiontoRescindStatutorySummarySuspensionatleast30 days
priorto your firstcourt appearance. Thisistypicallywithin2weeksof the actual arrest!
If you don’tretainanything Itype fromthisarticle,retainthis: One of the bestthings you can do it to
file a “PetitiontoRescind Statutory Summary Suspension” 30 days or more prior to your first court
date. Period.
While youcan file the PTRyourself, it’sconfusingandpotentiallyincorrectif youdoit – butit’sbetter
than notfilingone atall. You should have an attorneyassistyou,if youhave the choice. You maybe
feelingbroke afterpayingtowing,bail,andpossiblyotherfees. Thatsaid, youneedtonot letthese first
twoweeksgoto waste. Many attorneys, like myself,understandthe financialimpactthe arresthason
youand, as a result, andinitially mayfilethe Petition forconsiderably lessthanthe retainer.
The Civil Case / Statutory Summary Suspension

2. For a firsttime DUI, thismay be the most importantthingthatisdone duringthe entire legal procedure
– again, at least 30 days prior to the 1st
court date. Also,manyCourtswill allow anattorneyto
representthe Defendanton the SSShearingonly(andnotthe criminal case) – considerablyloweringthe
clientsattorneyfees!
The importance of filingthe “PetitiontoRescind”30 daysprior to the firstcourt appearance!
Under IllinoisLaw,afteraPetitiontoRescindhasbeenfiledahearingmustbe heldwithin30 daysor the
nextcourt date for the criminal case – whicheverislater. If a hearingisnotheldduringthattime,the
Petitioner(the personchargedwithaDUI) usually winsthe hearing. SSShearingsare Civil Hearings,not
Criminal ones. Manytimes,aDefendantwill getacquittedonthe Criminal DUIcase,yetlose the SSS
hearing. That said,the 30 day time clockis oftenthe offender’s bestfriend.
Upon beingbookedforaDUI, anticipate thatthe IllinoisSecretaryof State will suspendyourlicenseon
the 46th
day afteryour arrest. Allowingsomeone todemandahearingontheirPTRSSS, within30 days
or the nextcourt date,allowsforthemto,in theory,have minimal lossof liberty(drivingprivileges) prior
to adjudication. A Defendanthas90 daysafterarrest to file PTR. If 90 days have passed,thenthe
Defendanthaswaivedtheirrighttoa hearing;evenif theyhave onlylosttheirdriver’slicense for1½
monthsand still have 4½, 10 ½, or 34 ½ monthsto go.
Ideally,you shouldfile yourpetition30 daysor earlierof yourfirstcourt date. This way,the pressure is
put onthe state. Many times,duringthe firstcourtdate,the police officerisnotincourt. If thisis the
case,the State can still proceedwiththe case – However,aperson’stestimonyholdsmore weightthan
an affidavit.
Sometimesthe IllinoisSecretaryof State’sOfficehasyettoConfirma Suspension. Frommyexperience,
manyIllinoisCourtroomswill declare thatthe State doesnothave standingtoevenobjecttothe PTR.
While the 2nd
and 3rd
Districthave addressedthisissue(andbasicallysaidthe State doesnothave
standing) the IllinoisSupreme Courthasnot.
Some daysthere isa heavydocket. The Prosecutorandor Judge have a lotof cases - and wantto pick
theirbattles carefully.
Additionally,there are several otherwaysyoucan beata SS Hearing. Some of theminclude:1.)
(previouslystated)Failuretoholda hearingwithin30days or duringthe nextdate perthe criminal case
2.) NoWarningsGiven/ ImproperlyWarned3.) Norefusal fortesting – to reduce a sentence 4.) B.A.C.
was below0.08 5.) Notice of SummarySuspensionwasdefective. 6.) Noreasonable groundsexistedfor
pullingthe driverover.
My pointtotake away fromthisis this:The Earlierthe PetitiontoRescindStatutorySummary
Suspensiongetsfiled,the better,ideallymore than30 daysprior to yourfirstcourt date.
Towing and Fees for a Chicago DUI (and marijuana and other offenses)
While Ihope to make a separate postfor thisinthe future,DUI’s inthe Cityof Chicagocarry withthema
loftyfines,disguisedas“administrativefees”of $2,000 to $3,000. (These towingfeesandfinesapplyin
othercircumstances,notonlyDUIs. A goodexample of thisisif marijuanaissimplypossessedina
vehicle,evenif the driverwassober,the vehicle will be towedandsubjecttoa lofty,and inmy opinion
unjust,fees.)

3. If you receivedyourDUIin the Cityof Chicago,you are dealingwithaTowingand “Administrative”Fees
that oftenwill exceedwhatyou’ll payforyourcriminal case – so youmightas well trytofightit. That
said,youwill eitherneedto Go to 400 W. SuperiorSt.personallyfilea“RequestforHearing”. You
shouldhave the hearingshortly,sometimesthe dayof the filing. Representingyourself,whilesaving
money,hasitsdrawbacksfor all the cases involvedandlowersyourchance of a successful outcome. I
oftencharge a contingency(Idon’tgetpaidunlessyouwin) fee ora hybridthereof.
Conversely,youcanpay the fine immediately,retrieve yourcar,and laterfile yourPetitionforahearing
within15 days (youarguablyhave 36 days). Some attorneys,like myself,willdothisandcharge youa
contingencyorhybrid-contingencyfee if the case iswonor fine isreduced.
For more information,visit
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/ah/supp_info/vip/vip_fact_sheet.html.
Obviously,avastmajorityof IllinoisDUI’swill take place outside of Chicago. The reasonwhyIam
discussingChicagoTowingfeesisbecause of the magnitude of the fees. Manyplacesthe Chicago
Suburbsand more placesinDownstate,have nopunitive“administrative”fee or,if theydohave one,it
is$500 or less.
The Criminal Case
A firsttime DUI inIllinois isaClassA Misdemeanorpunishable byafine upto $2,500 (andthisdoesnot
include othercostsassociatedwithaDUI) anda jail sentence of 364 daysin the CountyJail.
I am writingthispostforsomeone whohasneverreceivedadispositionforaDUI previously. Toputit in
otherwords:you’ve neverbeenarrestedforaDUI before or,if youhave,youhad your attorneybeat
the DUI criminal chargescompletely(whichyoumaynotknow,since alot of thisstuff can be confusing).
In Illinois,aDUI Defendantisallowedtoreceive CourtSupervisiononce alifetime. While thisisnota
given,manyDefendantsdogetCourtSupervisionfortheirfirstDUIs – which,aside fromanacquittal or
a reductionof charges,isthe bestoutcome. Many CountiesinIllinoisinclude CourtSupervisionasa
standard1st
OffenderPleaDeal. Asaresult,theyare easiertodeal withfromthe Defendant’s
perspective. OtherCountiesdonotofferthisastheirusual package. Unlessa local attorneytellsyou
otherwise,don’texpecttogetCourt Supervisionasyourofficerasa 1st
time DUI offender.
If this isyour2nd
or additional DUI,the State (and the Court) mustinsistona Conviction. A DUI
convictionwill automaticallytriggeranIllinoisdriver’slicense revocation(whichisworse thana
suspension) of aminimumof 1 year. Therefore,forsomeone whohaspreviouslyreceivedaDUI,evenif
they do beatthe SSS hearing,theycanstill endup losingtheirlicense.
What isCourt Supervision?
Court Supervisiondoesnotcountasa conviction. Rather,there are aset of conditionsthatneedtobe
completed. Heavyfinesandfeelswillalwaysbe includedasacondition. Uponsuccessful completionof
the conditions,andaftera certaintime haselapsed(12,18 or 24 monthstypically) the disposition
becomesa“non-conviction”.
Thisnon-convictiondispositionwill be lesspubliclyavailable. Inthe eventthere wasaDUI conviction,
one’slicense becomesautomaticallyrevokedwiththe IllinoisSecretaryof State fora minimumperiodof

4. 1 year. Revocations,asopposedtoDriver’sLicense Suspensions,require more worktogetthe license
back and are not a guarantee. By notgettinga conviction,the Defendantbypasses thisprocessand,
barringthe StatutorySummarySuspension,getstokeeptheirlicenseunencumbered.
Again,inIllinois,youare allowedone DUIdispositionperlifetimeof CourtSupervisions. Basically,this
DUI will notcount as a convictionandyouwill notlose yourlicense –aside fromanyoutcome inyour
SSS case goesunfavorably. While thisisnotagiveninIllinois,anditgreatlydependsonthe Countyyou
receive yourDUI in,many firsttime offendersare offeredCourtSupervisions.
Beatingthe Criminal Case
I am not goingto listthe wayswe can winon the criminal case – as there isplentyof qualityIllinoisDUI
Attorneysbloggingthis. Thisismaterial fora separate post. Inshort, the burdenforthe state is much,
much higheronthe criminal case (asopposedto the Civil SSSCase andthe TowingCase) and,thus,the
Defendanthasmore avenues towinornegotiate. Thatsaid,certainfilingsanddeadlinesare notas
immediate,generallyspeaking,withthe Criminal Case,astheyare withthe SSS. It isa common
occurance where the personaccusedof the DUI losesthe PTR hearingyetwinsthe Criminal Case.
Police charge people withaDUI whentheyhave littleevidence of drunkenness. Contrarytopopular
belief, people whoare fittodrive and whonot intoxicateddo getcitedfora DUIs sometimes. Police are
humansand humansare imperfect. Sometimesthe entire case iswroughtwitherrors. DUI acquittals
are easierthanmanypeople think.
IN CONCLUSION
Contact me for a free consultation. File the PTR30 daysor more before yourcourt date. Interview
otherattorneysas well. If you justreceivedaDUI,don’t do thisalone. The charge isfar too serious, too
much isat stake,and there istoo manymoving,complicated parts.