Posted on April 05, 2017 in Traffic violation

If you’ve been ticketed or charged with a crime, one of the first things you’re probably thinking about is whether or not it is in your best interest to hire an attorney. Yes, hiring an attorney will cost you money, but pleading guilty to a charge can cost you a lot more in the long run. Today, we help explain when it is worthwhile to hire an attorney.

Should I Hire A Criminal Defense Lawyer?

Since we are criminal defense lawyers, it is much easier for us to explain situations where it is in your best interest to hire an attorney. If your arrest involves any of these factors, it is likely a wise move to lawyer up.

1. Drugs/Drunk Driving – Although you may not need to serve jail time for some crimes involving drugs or drunk driving, a conviction can seriously impact your ability to get a job, keep a job, get into college or have your rental application approved. Don’t just pay the fine and try to keep the charge from being discovered, because it will show up on background checks.

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 Posted on March 28, 2017 in Traffic violation

An Illinois legislator has introduced a proposal that would make wrong-way driving an aggravating factor in determining sentences for DUI offenders.

Wrong way DUIs don’t occur all that frequently in Illinois, but when they do, they can easily be deadly. State data suggests that wrong way impaired drivers have caused more than 50 deaths and more than 300 injuries over the past decade.

Upon hearing about the proposal, the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving applauded the move, saying “the punishment doesn’t fit the crime for DUIs.”

Wrong Way DUI Proposal

The proposal, introduced by Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside would mean a wrong way DUI driver could be charged with an aggravated DUI even if no other aggravating factors are present. Under the current law, anyone convicted of an aggravated DUI must serve at least 85 percent of the minimum sentence. This means if a person commits a wrong way DUI that results in a potential 90-day sentence, the person would be forced to spend at least 77 days in jail.

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 Posted on March 23, 2017 in Law

Lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday that would legalize recreational marijuana use in Illinois, but a vote on the issue likely won’t surface until next year.

Under the proposal, it would become legal for adults over the age of 21 to possess, grow and buy marijuana in Illinois. If passed, Illinois residents would be able to possess up to 28 grams of marijuana and grow up to five marijuana plants. The measure would also establish safety regulations such as chemical testing and labeling requirements.

Legalized Marijuana in Illinois

Illinois is considering legalizing marijuana after witnessing the financial success Colorado has had after legalizing the drugs. Estimates suggest that legal marijuana could generate between $350 million and $700 million in sales per year.

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 Posted on March 21, 2017 in Law

Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill last week that will expand the types of crimes that will be eligible for probation and rehabilitation in lieu of a prison sentence. Additionally, the bill will look into building trauma centers in state prisons to ensure prisoners have better access to physical and mental health needs while behind bars.

“This will help keep our community safer, help victims of crime recover, and help those who committed a crime get the rehabilitation they need,” said Rauner. “Prison should not just be about punishment [and] locking people away. It needs to be about preventing the individual offender from committing crimes again.”

Rehab Vs. Prison

Some people may read the first two sentences of this blog and think that Illinois is going “soft” on crime, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, offenders need to be punished for their actions, but in order to prevent future crime or cases of recidivism, we need to focus on the mental rehabilitation aspects that are involved.

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 Posted on March 16, 2017 in Traffic violation

Although a lot of places in Chicago rang in the St. Patrick’s Day holiday last weekend, there will still be plenty of revelers out and about this weekend. The holiday falls on Friday, which almost always leads to an uptick in arrests for crimes like drunk driving, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct. Knowing this, Naperville police and other departments across the state will be adding extra patrols to crack down on drunk drivers and other lawbreakers.

“Naperville Police will be on patrol this St. Patrick’s Day, so make sure you obey the law,” said Naperville Police Sgt. Derek Zook. “Don’t drink and drive, and don’t let your friends do it, either. Help us make zero fatalities a reality in Illinois.”

St. Patrick’s Day In Illinois

The focus of the extra enforcement will be to look for alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers, but that’s not all police will be keeping a close eye on. Sgt. Zook said they would also be conducting extra seat belt enforcement, especially during the night hours when seat belt rates are the lowest.

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 Posted on March 14, 2017 in Law

In the near future, Illinois will shift from a system that sets child support based on hard percentages to a more open ended system that involves analyzing parenting time and the income statements of both parents.

The new system, which is set to go into effect on July 1, offers some sweeping changes to the old system. The old child support system had pretty set standards for the percentage of a paycheck one spouse owes to the other, but the new system is a move away from a one-size-fits-all system and towards an individualized, case-by-case system.

New Child Support System

Anybody who pays or who owes child support will be subject to the new system on July 1. The new system will evaluate the time each parent spends caring for the children, as well as the net income of both parents.

Some people believe it will complicate the child support system, but Illinois believes it will help ensure the financial needs of the caregivers and the child are being met. The main issue won’t be over earnings statements, as those will be rather easy to dissect. Instead, family law attorneys believe getting both sides to agree on an accurate description of shared parenting time may be difficult. For example, although a child may spend more hours of the day with one parent, the other parent may be the one paying for schooling, sports and other activities. If they are meeting financial obligations but spending less time with the children, there’s a chance they could be ordered to pay more simply because they aren’t “parenting” the child by the state’s standard definition.

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 Posted on March 07, 2017 in Juvenile Crime

A proposed Illinois bill would make it legal for individuals under the age of 21 to legally consume alcohol in bars and restaurants if they are in the company of their approving parents or legal guardian.

It may sound like an odd law, but it’s been on the books in Wisconsin for a number of years. Now, Illinois is considering adopting a similar law. Not surprisingly, the proposal is being met with support and opposition.

“I honestly think it’s a bad idea,” says bar and restaurant owner Andy Rio. “We have customers that are 21 and can’t even handle their alcohol. We’re totally 100 percent against something like that.”

Rio added that it may be hard to police who is someone’s parent or guardian, so he wary of the proposal.

“How do you know that’s their parent? It could be an older friend, someone from the neighborhood. I think it’s going to be very hard to police and regulate,” said Rio.

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 Posted on March 03, 2017 in Law

We enter into a number of contracts each and every day. Contracts are made on a regular basis, and it doesn’t need to be written or signed by both parties in order for it to be considered a legal contract.

For example, if you pay for breakfast at McDonalds, the restaurant is required to cook and give you your food, otherwise they are in breach of the contract that is established when you place an order at their restaurant. Similarly, when you pay your mortgage or your credit card bill, you’re holding up your end of the contract. You’re probably involved in a bunch of contracts at the moment, but what happens when you or the other party fails to hold up their end of the bargain? That’s the focus of today’s blog on the basics of breach of contract laws in Illinois.

Types Of Legal Contracts

We rattled off a couple of examples of contracts you may already be involved in, but there are even more types of contract that are subject to breach of contract laws here in Illinois. Some common contracts that end up going before a judge include:

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 Posted on February 28, 2017 in Family Law

When it comes to hiring an attorney for your family law or criminal law case, you can easily go with the most expensive or the cheapest option and hope for the best. Both have benefits and drawbacks, but the key isn’t whether you hire an expensive or cheap lawyer, it’s about the value that attorney provides you. If an expensive lawyer can get you out of a DUI, it may be worth the cost, and similarly, a cheap attorney can very well go in and win a case for a fraction of the price of a big law firm.

We preface this post with that statement because we’ve been seeing a lot of advertisements for “$99 Divorce” or “Cheap Flat Fee Divorce” in Illinois. Yes, at the outset they appear cheaper and may be your best option, especially if you’re having an amicable split with your spouse and you agree on a number of things, but it still may not be a good move to go with these law groups. We explain why you need to find the right value during your divorce in today’s blog.

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 Posted on February 23, 2017 in Traffic violation

DUIs in Illinois come in many different forms, meaning there are a wide range of potential consequences depending on the exact circumstances of your arrest. Some factors that influence your degree of DUI include if there were any aggravating factors, like driving without a license or having children in the car, or if you’ve had previous DUIs on your record. Today, we take a closer look at the degrees of DUI in Illinois, and what you can expect if you are charged with a certain type of DUI.

DUIs In Illinois

Here’s a closer look at the degrees of DUI in Illinois

Class A Misdemeanor – This is the most common type of DUI, and it doesn’t involve any aggravating factors, which means the driver didn’t injure anyone, they had a valid license and they didn’t have an extremely high blood-alcohol content. Potential penalties for a Class A Misdemeanor DUI include: Jail time of up to one year, fines up to $2,500, up to two years probation and potential license revocation.

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