Romeoville DUI: Are You a First Offender?

The five year test

Illinois defines a first offender in 625 ILCS 5/11-500. You qualify if you had no earlier DUI conviction or court supervision, and no earlier statutory summary suspension or revocation, within the five years before this offense. The check is on your driving record, so people with an old out-of-state DUI are sometimes surprised by what the record shows. The DUI statute also counts a similar law of another state as a prior violation (625 ILCS 5/11-501(e)).

Ask for your abstract early, so Jeff and you both read the same record.

What first offender status changes

The periods come from 625 ILCS 5/6-208.1(a), and the permit rules from 625 ILCS 5/6-206.1. A first offender who refused testing can still get the permit. The exception is a refusal after a crash that caused a Type A injury or death, which brings a revocation; that driver cannot get the permit but may apply for a restricted permit after one year (6-208.1(e)). The interlock device page covers the permit in plain terms.

Reading your record before the call

The five year window is counted from the date of this offense backward. Collect what you can: dates of any earlier arrest, the state where it happened, and whether the outcome was a conviction, supervision or a dismissal. Jeff confirms how each entry counts from the abstract itself, not from memory.

Bring everything you have, even papers that seem old or unrelated. A page you think does not matter is sometimes the one that settles the question.

Who is not offered the permit

Even a first offender can be turned down for the monitoring device driving permit. Under 625 ILCS 5/6-206.1(a), the Secretary of State does not issue it if the driver's license is otherwise invalid, if death or great bodily harm to another resulted from the arrest, if the driver was previously convicted of reckless homicide or aggravated DUI involving death, or if the driver is under 18. The permit also never covers a commercial motor vehicle.

The permit is separate from the criminal case. Getting one does not resolve the charge, and the charge does not decide the permit. Two tracks, two sets of rules, one calendar.

If you were a prior offender before

A second or later conviction brings a longer interlock requirement. The Secretary of State must require an ignition interlock device on all vehicles you own for at least 5 years after a second or later conviction, with a monthly fee that cannot exceed $30 (625 ILCS 5/11-501.01(e)). Which rule applies to you depends on the record, so the record comes first.

After a Romeoville arrest

The Romeoville Police Department makes the stop and sends the sworn report. You then have two tracks. One is the criminal charge, handled in court. The other is the suspension, run by the Secretary of State. If this is your first, start with the first offense DUI page. If your record already holds one DUI, read the second DUI page before your first court date.

The court supervision page explains the outcome many first-time drivers ask about. Whether it fits your facts is a question for the call, and Jeff cannot promise it. The reinstatement page explains what comes after.

Court for Romeoville cases

Romeoville is in Will County. A DUI arrested here is filed with the Circuit Clerk of Will County and heard at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. More about the town is at Areas We Serve: Romeoville.

Reviewed by Jeff McCarthy, Attorney, Inspired Law Group, 136 E 9th St, Lockport, IL 60441.