John R. (Randy) Patchett DUI/DWI Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Illinois treats every instance of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI), also known as driving while intoxicated (DWI), as a serious crime.  People arrested for DUI/DWI in Carbondale, Marion, Benton, Harrisburg, or elsewhere in Illinois face both civil and criminal penalties that grow more severe with each successive arrest. 

Below are the penalties for a first DUI/DWI arrest in Illinois, with no aggravating factors:

• Driver’s license suspended for six months if you fail the breathalyzer test, and up to one year if you refuse the breathalyzer
• Up to one year in jail
• Fine of up to 2,500 dollars

You may qualify for a Monitoring Device Driving Permit after the 30th day of your license suspension, which permits you to drive anywhere at any time, as long as you drive a car equipped with a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID).  If you are caught driving a car without such a device, prosecutors will charge you with a Class 4 felony. 

A first DUI/DWI offense—defined as an actual first or the first in the past five years—qualifies as a Class A misdemeanor, so any prison time will be spent in county jail, not the state prison system.  Subsequent offenses in Illinois receive harsher penalties, as do offenses in which your blood alcohol content is 0.16 or more, twice the legal limit of 0.08, and DUI/DWI offenses in which someone age 16 or younger was a passenger in your car at the time of arrest.

Comparing DUI/DWI with reckless driving

Reckless driving is typically a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois.  The criminal penalties remain the same: if convicted of reckless driving, you face up to one year in county jail and a criminal fine of up to 2,500 dollars.  If you face a DUI/DWI conviction, your Illinois DUI defense attorney may recommend trying to have your charge amended to reckless driving.  The primary difference between the penalty for first-time reckless driving and the penalty for first-time DUI/DWI lies in what happens to your driver’s license.

With a DUI/DWI arrest in Illinois, you face an automatic license suspension.  Upon conviction, your license remains suspended for at least six months.  When charged with reckless driving, the prosecutor can seek to have your license suspended or revoked, but Illinois law does not require him or her to do so.  You are more likely to retain full driving privileges when charged with reckless driving than when charged with driving under the influence. 

Contact our aggressive DUI/DWI defense lawyers

The Illinois DUI/DWI attorneys at Patchett Law Office have nearly 50 years of combined experience practicing law and for the past decade have focused almost entirely on criminal and drunk driving defense.  Their Illinois DUI lawyers will work with you to handle your DUI/DWI charges effectively and efficiently, aggressively fighting the charges and seeking the best possible outcome for your circumstances. 

If you face DUI/DWI charges in Carbondale, Marion, Benton, or Harrisburg, or anywhere in Southern Illinois, Patchett Law Office invites you to contact them by phone at 618-364-4942, through their website, or by visiting their conveniently located Marion offices.