Illinois DUI Laws: 2024 Guide

Under DUI Illinois laws, you could face charges for impaired driving if you are impaired by alcohol or any other drugs or intoxicating compounds including marijuana and prescription medications while driving.

You can be charged with DUI if you drive in any of the following situations:

• If you have a  blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher
• If you have a THC concentration of 5 nanograms or more per milliliter of whole blood
• If you have a THC concentration of 10 nanograms or more per milliliter of any other bodily substance
• If you used any other controlled substance prior to driving
• If you used prescription or over-the-counter medication that caused impairment

If you are under 21, zero tolerance laws also apply when you have a BAC exceeding .00. You could face a three-month suspension of your driver’s license for a first offense or a six month suspension of your license for refusal to undergo chemical testing. Repeat offenses result in longer license suspensions.

In Illinois, you may be stopped by a police officer at a roadside safety check or if there is reasonable suspicion of unlawful behavior or unusual operation.

If a police officer suspects you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you may be asked to complete field sobriety tests. If this testing provides probable cause of intoxication, you can be placed under arrest. This can trigger both an administrative and criminal process.

The Administrative Process

Once you are arrested, you will be taken to the police station where you will be asked to undergo a chemical test such as blood or breath test to detect if there is alcohol or drugs in your system. If you refuse the test, you’ll face automatic suspension of your license. This is called a statutory suspension in Illinois. You face a statutory suspension if:

• You have a BAC of .08 or higher
• You have 5 or more nanograms of THC per milliliter of whole blood or 10 or more nanograms per milliliter of other bodily substances
• You have any trace of other intoxicating compounds or illegal drugs other than cannabis

The police will give you a receipt that allows you to drive for 45 days if your license is going to be suspended by statute. After that time, the suspension will go into effect. You will have to pay a reinstatement fee when the time comes to get your license back. The timeline of your suspension will vary based on whether you are a repeat offender.

• If you are a first-time offender who failed a chemical test, your license will be suspended for six months. If you have a second or subsequent offense, your license will be suspended for a year.
• If you refuse to submit to a chemical test and it is your first offense, your license will be suspended for 12 months. If you are a repeat offender, it will be suspended for three years.

If you are a first-time DUI offender who refused chemical testing or failed your chemical testing, you may be eligible to get a permit that allows you to drive only if a monitoring device (such as an ignition interlock device) is installed on your vehicle. If you’re a repeat offender, you may be eligible for a Restricted Driving Permit that allows you to drive only for limited purposes.

Anyone whose license has been statutorily suspended also has the right to request a formal hearing to challenge the suspension and request the reinstatement of full or restricted driving privileges.

The Criminal Process

Once you have been arrested for a DUI, Illinois law specifies that your vehicle may be impounded and you may be required to post bond before you are released from police custody. Your case will be referred for prosecuting and you will face criminal charges.

The prosecutor has the burden of proving your guilt in court beyond a reasonable doubt. If you are convicted of a drunk or impaired driving offense, you will face penalties that could include jail time or probation, court-mandated drug and alcohol counseling or treatment and fines.

You may be able to enter into a plea agreement if you don’t want to try to fight your drunk driving charges. You could potentially get a plea deal where you agree to plead guilty to a less serious offense in exchange for admitting you violated the law. Diversion programs or deferred prosecution programs also exist that could allow you to avoid a criminal conviction if you are eligible.

If you don’t plead guilty or enter a diversion program, you will then proceed with a trial and face whatever penalties the court imposes if you are found guilty.

Criminal penalties for a DUI conviction are separate from the statutory suspension of your license. The table below shows the potential penalties that you could face.

If there are aggravating factors such as a BAC of .16 or more, a child under 16 in the car, or a crash resulting from the DUI that causes bodily harm, then you can face more serious charges and harsher penalties.

You can try to get DUI charges dropped in Illinois when you are accused of impaired driving or you could try to defend yourself in court to avoid a guilty verdict.

If you believe your constitutional rights were violated when evidence against you was collected, you could argue that the evidence should be suppressed. If the court finds there was a violation of your rights, the evidence collected may not be used to secure a conviction against you. With insufficient evidence, the prosecutor might drop the charges or the judge might dismiss your case.

If you go to court you can present defenses, such as arguing your BAC was below the legal limit at the time you were driving even if it went up over time and was above the limit when you were tested. You could also argue there were problems with the test’s administration or with contamination of your sample.

An Illinois DUI lawyer will help you at every step of your drunk driving case. Your attorney knows DUI Illinois laws and works with you to fight to keep your license and avoid a criminal conviction or minimize potential penalties. Contact an attorney as soon as possible when you’ve been accused of impaired driving.