Getting Legal to Drive After a DUI
The Road to Reinstatement Starts with an RDP
The DUI Laws in Illinois are tough. Over the years, the breath or blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to find someone legally under the influence of alcohol has been reduced from .10 to .08; the availability of the sentence of “court supervision” to avoid a conviction, and loss of one’s driver’s license, has been limited to once in a lifetime; former misdemeanors have been enhanced to felonies and jail sentences have become prison sentences.
But even a DUI conviction, revocation of their driver’s license and loss of driving privileges will not stop some people from continuing to drive. In most cases, people drive not to defy the law, but to get to work or school, get their kids to daycare or after-school activities, take elderly parents to the doctor, buy groceries and support their families.
The harsh consequence of driving after a DUI conviction is usually a mandatory jail sentence or hundreds of hours of community service. Repeat offenders are often charged with felonies and third-time offenders can be charged with a Class 1 felony, punishable by 4 – 15 years in prison and a fine up to $25,000, with no possibility of probation.
My advice to people whose driver’s licenses have been revoked following a conviction for DUI – Don’t Drive until you get Legal to Drive!