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Smoked pot two days ago and had a major car accident today? In Illinois you can be charged with felony aggravated DUI even if the cause of accident had nothing to do with actual drug-related impairment.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors can use positive drug-screening results to upgrade charges against motorists without having to prove an actual state of impairment. The Chicago Tribune reports on the case of a person with trace amounts of methamphetamine in his blood convicted on felony charges after crashing his truck, killing two others. The decision allowed prosecutors to proceed with felony charges without requiring evidence that drug use contributed to the accident. “The crime is the bad driving, so proof of impairment isn’t needed, ” the court ruled. A case potentially affecting many more involves another man who took “one or two” hits of pot the night prior to being involved in a fatal collision. He now faces a three to 14 years prison sentence under upgraded charges.

The new law can be applied to serious but nonfatal accidents, and also in cases of inadvertent use of expired prescription drugs.

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CHICAGO — IL police are stepping up seat-belt and drunken driving enforcement over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Police will be scouring roadways in a five-state mobilization effort covering Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio.

Michael Witter is regional administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and he says the goal is to save lives.

During the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday season, the most recent data available, 1,120 people died in vehicle crashes nationwide. In cases with seat-belt information available, more than half of those killed weren’t buckled up.

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An Illinois Motorist has taken a stand against DUI law enforcement in Lake County, Illinois for its perceived unfair arrest practice known as “No-Refusal Weekends.” An Illinois Driver who was arrested in 2008 during one of these promotional weekends, taken to the Lake County Jail where she remained in custody for over 12 hours and would not consent to a court-ordered blood test to determine her Blood Alcohol Content. In Illinois, as with the rest of the nation, the legal limit is. .08.

The women was later found not guilty of the DUI. Pursuing her rights, perhaps to the benefit of motorists everywhere, she has filed a lawsuit against Lake County, the Village of Libertyville and several law enforcement personnel for what is alleged to be an unlawful program of DUI enforcement. The women is asking for damages for those arrested under the “no refusal” program and also seeks to have the records of those arrested expunged.

Local-DUI-Attorney.org President Peter Buh commented on the program as well as the lawsuit. “No Refusal weekends occur with the cooperation of both prosecutors and judges who remain on call all weekend to obtain search warrants requesting that motorists be forced to give up evidence against them. If the motorist refuses, he or she can be found in contempt of court.”

Buh questioned the program while the lawsuit. “From the beginning of the Constitution in the United States, individuals have never been compelled to give incriminating evidence against oneself. The no-refusal weekends law forces a person to give evidence that will be later used to convict him or her of a serious crime. A law like that should be found unconstitutional.” Attorney Buh concluded. Local-DUI-Attorney.org is a lawyer referral organization which strives to connect those arrested for DUI with a local attorney who is proficient in the are of DUI law.

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90% of it. The bond money posted is just a temporary hold until your case is concluded. The same would stand true if you had been arrested for any other crime and been bonded out. In Illinois and many other states the money will automatically go towards your fines if you are convicted or plead guilty. However, I strongly encourage anyone accused of DUI in Chicago to fight the charge. You may not know it, but the prosecution probably doesn’t have enough on you.

Accused of DUI in Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois? Visit the Illinois DUI Attorney directory. Schedule a free consultation and learn the facts about what you’re up against.

Moments after a jury convicted the women of killing his daughter and four other teens in a drunken-driving crash, Anthony Urso said he hoped the verdict would bring him a little peace.

“It’s the beginning of closure, a little bit,” said Urso, fighting back tears Wednesday as he stood outside the Kendall County Courthouse. “I don’t think this ever closes, but it’s a start.”

Jurors deliberated for nearly 12 hours over two days before convicting the women of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI in the 2007 crash that killed 16-year-old Tiffany Urso and four of her friends.

The 26-year-old defendant was giving eight Oswego teens a ride home from a party on Feb. 11, 2007, when her car swerved off Illinois 31 and rammed a utility pole in the far west suburb.
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Illinois now requires first-time DUI offenders to have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle or lose driving privileges. Officials say the program helps makes driving safer.

April 13, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ — State Officials: Interlock Ignition DUI Law is Working

Illinois drivers convicted of DUI have two choices: losing their driving privileges or keeping them. Most people will choose the latter. When they do, they’ll have to pass a breathalyzer test every time they drive their car.

For over a year, people convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol have been able to apply to have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle. Before the vehicle can be started, the driver must blow into the interlock ignition device on the dashboard, which detects alcohol in the person’s breath. If more than a certain amount of alcohol is detected, the car won’t start.

Beginning on January 1 of last year, Illinois, Nebraska, Alaska, Colorado and Washington all required the devices for drivers convicted for the first time of drunken driving.

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Prosecutors dropped a DUI charge against Chris Chelios, but a judge convicted the former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman of improper lane usage and speeding.

Chelios, who was arrested in late December in Westmont, Ill., was sentenced Wednesday to six months of conditional discharge. He also received a $500 fine.

“I want to put this behind me and learn from it,” Chelios said Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Chelios also was ordered to attend a victim impact panel within six months, the newspaper reported.

Now with the Atlanta Thrashers, the 48-year-old Chelios was assigned to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League later Wednesday. He appeared in seven games with the Thrashers after being recalled from Chicago on March 10.

Chelios has played in more NHL games than any other American-born player. He won three Stanley Cups and was a three-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.

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An early release program approved by Gov. Quinn allowed 18 felony drunk driving offenders to move into home confinement instead of prison, but they have now been taken back to jail.

Gov. Quinn ordered all of the offenders serve the remainder of their time behind bars despite previously qualifying under the early release program. Of the 18 offenders, each was scheduled to be paroled between January and November. They will now have to wait out their sentences back in prison after returning home for just a few days.

The change in policy came after public outrage over the release of felony drivers in a group of 204 inmates allowed to go home under the program, designed to save $5M in taxpayer dollars. The program was aimed at non-violent offenders, and about 1,000 inmates in total are expected to return home to serve their sentence.

MADD, among other activist groups, was angered at the classification of a felony DUI driver as a non violent offender. The state Corrections Department agreed with this assessment of the level of violence involved in the felony crimes, most of which resulted from repeat DUI offenses, and made the decision to move the offenders back into the state’s care.

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Bail was set at $75,000 Thursday for a Chicago man arrested in Norridge and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, the fourth time he has been arrested on DUI charges.

Tomas Martinez, 39, of the 4200 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, appeared in the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court, where he also was charged with driving on a revoked license, Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Pontrelli said.

Martinez was stopped about 3:30 a.m. Thursday in the 7200 block of West Montrose Avenue, Pontrelli said. His blood-alcohol level measured 0.299, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08, Pontrelli said. Martinez has three prior DUI arrests, Pontrelli said.

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A 30-year-old Chicago man was charged with murder and aggravated DUI on Wednesday in a hit-and-run that killed a Rogers Park woman and injured her 6-year-old son.

Ralph Eubanks, of the 1400 block of North Sedgwick, also was charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Maria Worthon, 48, of the 1400 block of West Touhy, was walking with her son in the 1400 block of West Greenleaf at 9 p.m. Monday when they were struck by Eubanks’ car, Cook County prosecutors said.

He drove south on Greenview after hitting them, police said, but they stopped him about a mile away.

The boy was in critical condition Wednesday at Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Eubanks, a convicted felon, has been stopped for speeding, driving without a valid license and DUI in the past seven years, according to court files.

Obviously a DUI fatality is not taken lightly, but neither is a straight DUI. If you have been charged with a DUI in Chicago or anywhere for that matter you would be well advised to contact a DUI attorney.

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