DUI With a Child Passenger in Will County
If you were transporting a person under 16 when you were charged with DUI, Illinois adds penalties. The law lists 6 months of imprisonment, a mandatory minimum $1,000 fine, and 25 days of community service in a program benefiting children. A second DUI with a child in the car is a Class 2 felony.
Your deadlines
- Day 46. Your statutory summary suspension starts, counted from the day you got the notice.
- Day 90. The last day to file a petition to rescind that suspension.
What happens next
- The officer arrests you and records that a child was in the vehicle.
- You are booked and given a court date at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet.
- The prosecutor decides which child passenger provisions to charge.
- Jeff gets the police report, any body camera or dash camera video and the record of the child's age.
- The case moves toward a plea, a hearing or a trial.
The added penalties
| Situation | Added penalty in the statute |
|---|---|
| DUI while transporting a person under 16 | 6 months of imprisonment, a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, and 25 days of community service in a program benefiting children |
| Crash that causes bodily harm to the child, short of great bodily harm | Aggravated DUI, a mandatory fine of $2,500 and 25 days of community service benefiting children |
| Second DUI while transporting a person under 16 | Aggravated DUI, a Class 2 felony, a mandatory fine of $2,500 and 25 days of community service benefiting children |
| Same, and the child suffered bodily harm in a crash | Mandatory fine of $5,000 and 25 days of community service benefiting children |
| Third or later DUI while transporting a person under 16 | A mandatory fine of $25,000 and 25 days of community service benefiting children |
These come from section 11-501(c)(3) and (d). They come in addition to the other sanctions for a DUI.
Who counts as a child passenger
The statute says a person under the age of 16. It does not require that you are a parent. It applies to anyone you were transporting, such as a niece, a neighbor's child or a carpool rider. The age is a fact the state must prove.
Jeff asks the plain questions early. Where was the child seated? Who else saw the stop? The age of the child is a fact on paper, usually a birth date, and he asks for it right away so nothing rests on a guess.
Arrested for DUI? Call Jeff now.
The license clock starts the day you get the notice. During office hours, Jeff answers the phone himself.Office hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 6 PM, Saturday 10 AM to noon. After hours, leave your name, number and the best time to call back.
Jeff McCarthy, Inspired Law Group, 136 E 9th St, Lockport, IL 60441
Felony levels and what follows
The law makes two child passenger cases felonies. A second DUI with a person under 16 in the car is a Class 2 felony. A third or later DUI is also a felony, and if a person under 16 was in the vehicle the mandatory fine is $25,000 plus 25 days of community service benefiting children.
The fines in this section are mandatory minimums, not ranges, which is why the facts of the first stop matter so much.
Effects beyond the courtroom
Jeff will ask who the child is to you, how old the child was, where you were going and who knew the child was with you. Those details shape the defense. They also matter if a family court case is open.
A DUI conviction means revocation of the driver's license, and the court can order an alcohol and drug evaluation. The Secretary of State sets the revocation period, and reinstatement follows the same steps as any DUI. Jeff also handles family law, so if you have a custody or parenting matter open, he can look at both cases together.
How Jeff defends this charge
- He starts with the DUI itself. If the main charge fails, the added child penalties fall with it.
- He checks the proof of age and that the child was actually being transported at the time.
- He reviews the stop, the field tests and the chemical test the same way he would in any DUI.
- He looks at the video for what the child and the officer said and did.
- He compares the charge the state chose with the facts, since a felony and a misdemeanor are very far apart.
- He keeps you informed about how this case may affect a family court matter.
He cannot promise a result. He will say plainly what he sees.
Reviewed by Jeff McCarthy, Attorney, Inspired Law Group, 136 E 9th St, Lockport, IL 60441.
Questions people ask about dui with a child passenger
Short answers first. Jeff McCarthy reviews every answer on this page.
The statute lists 6 months of imprisonment, a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 and 25 days of community service benefiting children when a person under 16 was being transported.
A second DUI with a person under 16 in the vehicle is a Class 2 felony. A first one with a child and no injury falls under the added penalties in section 11-501(c)(3).
The law applies to a person under the age of 16.
A DUI conviction means the Secretary of State revokes your driving privileges. The child passenger rules add fines and community service in addition.
Every family case turns on its own facts. Jeff handles both DUI and family law, so he can look at the two cases together if you have a custody matter open.
If the child had bodily harm but not great bodily harm, it is aggravated DUI with a mandatory $2,500 fine and 25 days of community service. A second offense with that injury carries $5,000.
Keep reading
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Every case comes down to its facts and its deadlines. Talk with Jeff McCarthy so you can:
- Get clear on your legal options.
- Avoid costly mistakes.
- Know what happens next, and when.
