Wilmington, Illinois DUI Tied to Medication or Drugs

What the statute says about drugs

According to its own website, Wilmington follows the original 1926 route of Illinois Route 66. A driver stopped on that route or any other can be charged under 625 ILCS 5/11-501(a) in several ways involving drugs: under the influence of a drug to a degree that makes safe driving impossible, under the combined influence of alcohol and a drug, or with any amount of a controlled substance in the breath, blood or urine from unlawful use. A prescription filled in your name is evidence about whether the use was unlawful, but it does not close the question of impairment.

Section 11-501(b) says plainly that being legally entitled to use alcohol, cannabis, a drug or an intoxicating compound is no defense to a DUI charge.

What this means for a prescription

Take a patient who uses a sleep or pain medicine as prescribed and is stopped late at night. If the officer believes the medicine impaired driving, a DUI charge is possible. The question becomes what the evidence shows: the driving, the roadside observations, any test result, and what the label and the doctor said. The prescription drug DUI page goes through those points. For a drug test, the field sobriety tests page explains the roadside part, and a urine test and a blood test do not answer the same question.

What to gather

• The pill bottle or pharmacy printout showing the drug, dose and date
• The name of the prescriber, and what you were told about driving
• Times: when you took the dose, and when you were stopped
• The officer's ticket, and any test paperwork

Keep these in one place. A doctor's letter can be useful later, but get it only after talking to Jeff.

The license side of a drug stop

A drug case carries the same license consequences as an alcohol case. If a test shows any amount of a controlled substance, an intoxicating compound or methamphetamine from unlawful use, the officer submits a sworn report and the Secretary of State enters a statutory summary suspension. For a first offender who submitted to testing, the suspension period is 6 months, and 12 months for a refusal (625 ILCS 5/6-208.1(a)). It begins on the 46th day after notice. Read the summary suspension page for how the hearing request works.

Why distance matters here

Jeff can handle much of the early work for a Wilmington client by phone and email, and meets in person when a document needs signing or a longer sit-down helps. Tell Jeff on the first call how you prefer to be reached, and which days you can get away from work for the Joliet courthouse.

A note on timing

Because a license hearing request and a criminal court date run on different clocks, a Wilmington client can have a court date months away and a suspension that starts in six weeks. The suspension is the nearer problem. Jeff puts the 46 day date first on the calendar for that reason, then the 90 day limit, then the court date from the ticket.

The department and the court

The city's police site identifies the Wilmington Police Department, a city department. Reports about a stop come from that department. The case is heard in Will County at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. Wilmington is in Will County, and the city website points to Will County services.

Start with the after a DUI arrest page, then the first offense DUI page. The court supervision page explains one outcome some first-time drivers ask about, though Jeff cannot promise it. For cost questions, see the DUI cost page; Jeff explains how his fees work on the first call. The town's other services are on Areas We Serve: Wilmington.

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