Please note that this article refers only to DUI laws in Illinois as of January 2009
After a DUI conviction in Illinois, new laws require a breathalyzer device to be installed in the convicted person’s car. This breath alcohol ignition interlock will only allow the engine to start if the driver registers a blood alcohol content of less than 0.024. Those convicted of DUI have 14 days to install the devices in the dashboards of their cars.
Drivers who register a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher when arrested must drive with the monitoring devices for 5 months. If a driver refuses to take an alcohol test and is later convicted of DUI, he must use the device for 11 months. The device costs the driver $80 for installation and $110 per month for rental and administrative costs.
These breath alcohol devices also require drivers to undergo periodic testing while the car is running. After the initial test, the driver should blow into the device again within the first 5 to 15 minutes of a trip, and then at least twice an hour thereafter. If at any time it detects a blood alcohol content greater than 0.024, the device warns the driver to stop and shuts down the engine. Submit a report to the secretary of state’s office for review and further penalties will ensue. These additional tests ensure that the driver is the person blowing into the device and not a sober friend.
If a driver convicted of DUI is caught driving a car that does not have this device, there is a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison.
Before these laws were passed, drivers convicted of DUI for the first time lost their licenses for 30 days and had to ask judges for judicial driver’s licenses to continue driving for work, school, medical treatment or alcohol treatment. . Now, first-time offenders still lose their licenses for 30 days, but this ignition interlock device replaces judge-issued driver’s licenses.
Much of the rest of DUI law hasn’t changed. If a driver in Illinois is pulled over with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, the driver’s license will be suspended for 180 days; this suspension takes effect 46 days after the arrest. If the driver’s blood alcohol content is between 0.05 and 0.08, the officer can still cite the driver for a DUI if the driver’s behavior suggests an impairment; this is at the discretion of the officer. A BAC between 0.05 and 0.08 does not constitute an automatic license suspension. Additionally, a conviction is still punishable by jail time at the judge’s discretion.
These new laws were passed on January 1, 2009 and can be found in the Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5, Section 1-129.1 and 625 ILCS 5, Section 6-205.
If you are arrested for a DUI, it is extremely important that you seek a criminal defense attorney who has defended numerous DUIs in the county where your case will be handled.