DUI Suspension and Revocation Lawyer Chicago, Illinois

DUI Suspension and Revocation Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois Serving All of Cook County

A license suspension or revocation after a DUI can leave you feeling like you have no recourse. Your driving privileges will be limited at best, restricting where you can drive and at what times (if you’re even allowed to drive at all). Plus, suspension or revocation periods can last for years, especially if you have a past DUI on your record.

At Combs Waterkotte, we have decades of combined experience in fighting to preserve our Chicago clients’ driving privileges after an alleged DUI. Our client-centered approach means you’ll know what’s going on with your license at every step of your case, and our statewide Illinois resources provide the muscle you need to fight back against your DUI allegations.

If your driver’s license was revoked or suspended after a Chicago DUI arrest or conviction, don’t wait—there may be important deadlines coming up soon in order to get your license back. Call Combs Waterkotte right away at (314) 900-HELP or reach out to us online to act quickly and protect your driver’s license.

Is Your Chicago, Illinois Driver’s License Currently Suspended or Revoked? How to Check

It’s not uncommon for many of our Chicago and Cook County clients not to know the status of their driver’s license after a DUI arrest. The best way to find out whether your license is clear, suspended, or revoked is to submit a driving record abstract on the Illinois Secretary of State’s website.

On the site’s driving record abstract submission page, you can input some basic information and pay a fee to find out the status of your driver’s license (note that you may only purchase your own record and not someone else’s, and you need a valid credit or debit card). Here’s how the process goes:

1. You check a box to affirm that you’re purchasing your own record
2. You establish your identity on the site by providing your:
   • Name (first and last)
   • Date of birth
   • Driver’s license number
   • The last four digits of your Social Security number
   • License issuing date
   • License expiration date
   • License class
   • Height and weight (must match what’s on your license)
   • DD number (located on your license)
3. You then request the record. You have three options and may ask for:
   • A public driving record
   • A court-purposes driving record
   • Both a public driving record and a court-purposes driving record
4. You then pay a $21 fee ($20 for the record and a $1 processing fee)
5. Finally, you download a PDF of your driving record which you may print

The Secretary of State’s website provides detailed instructions on how to read your driving record. Discovering whether your license is suspended or revoked is the first step in determining your legal strategy. If you need help accessing your driving record, interpreting its contents, or building a defense based on its results, call (314) 900-HELP today.

What’s the Difference Between a Driver’s License Suspension and Revocation in Illinois?

Article II of Illinois’s Vehicle Code outlines exactly what it means to have your license suspended or revoked. Both result in the loss of your driving privileges, but one is temporary while the other is indefinite.

A license suspension occurs when you are pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence when officers have probable cause. The two main concepts to understand about a suspension are that:

1. A suspension is a temporary withdrawal of driving privileges for a specific period of time
2. After the suspension period is over, your driving privileges are restored

A suspension happens automatically after a DUI arrest and is completely independent of how your case goes and whether or not you are convicted.

A license revocation, on the other hand, occurs when you are actually convicted of a DUI in criminal court. Unlike a driver’s license suspension, a revocation:

• Does not automatically end on a predetermined date and requires the convicted individual to request a hearing to get their license back
• Applying for a hearing does not guarantee license restoration. You must prove that you deserve to have your license reinstated at the hearing

In practical terms, a suspension has an end date and is subject to the payment of fees and other outstanding holds. A revocation has an application eligibility date, after which restoration is still not necessarily guaranteed.

How Long Will My Driver’s License Be Suspended or Revoked in Illinois?

In Illinois, license suspensions and revocations come with different periods. The length of time for which your license is suspended or revoked depends heavily on your DUI history and what happened when you were pulled over.

Driver’s License Suspension Lengths

For Chicago drivers who are 21 years of age or older, the length of your license suspension depends on whether you’re dealing with your first DUI, your second DUI, and whether you failed or refused a breath or blood test. The suspension penalties for each combination of these factors include:

• A 6-month suspension for a first-time test failure
• A 1-year suspension for a first-time test refusal
• A 1-year suspension for a second-time test failure
• A 3-year suspension for a second-time test refusal

If you’re under the age of 21, you’re subject to Illinois’s “zero-tolerance” law which states that, with rare exceptions, your blood alcohol content level may not be higher than 0.00%. For drivers under 21 years old, possible suspension periods are as follows:

• A 3-month suspension for a first-time test failure
• A 6-month suspension for a first-time test refusal
• A 1-year suspension for a second-time test failure
• A 2-year suspension for a second-time test refusal

Driver’s License Revocation Lengths

When you’re convicted for driving under the influence in Chicago, your license is suspended indefinitely, and you are not allowed to apply to regain your driving privileges until a certain amount of time has passed. That time period is based on your DUI history:

• First DUI conviction — May reapply for full driving privileges after 1 year
• DUI or Aggravated DUI that caused a death — May reapply for full driving privileges after 2 years or after release from prison (whichever is later)
• Second DUI (within 20 years) — May reapply for full driving privileges after 5 years
• Third DUI — May reapply for full driving privileges after 10 years
• Fourth or subsequent DUI — May never reapply for full driving privileges

How to Get Your Driver’s License Back After a Suspension or Revocation in Illinois

In Chicago and Cook County, the process of getting your suspended driver’s license back is different than getting a revoked driver’s license back. Fighting a suspended license is generally easier than fighting to reinstate a revoked driver’s license.

Getting a Suspended Driver’s License Back

When you are issued a statutory summary suspension in Chicago, you have 90 days from the time of the suspension to submit a petition to stop the suspension. Within 30 days after submitting this petition, the court must grant you an administrative hearing.

During this hearing, your suspension may be rescinded, upheld, or modified. A lawyer can accompany you to the hearing and argue on your behalf to reinstate your full driving privileges.

Getting a Revoked Driver’s License Back

After your revocation period (of one, two, five, or ten years), you may apply for a driver’s license. Before you can get your license, though, you will have to request and participate in a formal hearing.

In this hearing, you must prove that restoring your driver’s license will not pose a danger to public safety or welfare. There are three possible results to the hearing:

1. You may regain full, unrestricted driving privileges
2. You may be issued a restricted driving permit (RDP)
3. You may be denied driving privileges

The high stakes of these hearings means that it’s always wise to bring a lawyer with you. Your lawyer can prepare you for the hearing and fight for the full restoration of your unrestricted driver’s license.