If you're planning a New Year's Eve celebration that involves alcohol, you may be one of the first to face Illinois' new DUI laws.  Beginning January 1, 2009, Illinois drivers will face tough changes to the state’s DUI laws affecting first-time DUI offenders.

The penalty for statutory summary suspensions in Illinois is going to double.  Illinois drivers are deemed to have given consent to chemical  — breath, blood, or urine — testing if a law-enforcement officer has reasonable suspicion that the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  If arrested, refusal to take the tests will result in an automatic, 12-month license suspension by the Secretary of State.  The current penalty is six months.  Drivers who voluntarily submit to the test, but are found to be over the legal limit of .08 for alcohol also will face a six-month automatic license suspension. 

These statutory summary suspensions and are automatic, regardless of whether the court finds the driver guilty of DUI.  However, there are challenges to the automatic suspension, including questioning the "reasonable suspicion" for arrest, which triggers the deemed consent for chemical testing.  The statutory summary suspension is enforceable after arrest and does not apply to an optional portable breath test prior to arrest.

Judicial Driving Permits are being eliminated.  Currently, Judicial Driving Permits — JDPs — are at the discretion of a judge and can be applied for so that drivers with a suspended license could drive to and for work, to school, for family reasons, and under a handful of other circumstances.  The new law beginning Jan. 1 provides for a new permit, called a Monitoring Device Driving Permit, or MDDP.

Unlike a JDP, allowing an MDDP is mandatory for first offenders following the first 30 days of the suspension.  Drivers need only excercise their option to apply for the MDDP to drive without restrictions, anytime, anywhere.  Of course, there’s a catch – a big catch.  To get an MDDP, drivers must install a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device in any automobile they wish to drive during the period of the MDDP.

The BAIID essentially is a breathalyzer attached to the ignition.  A driver must blow into the device to start the car, and then must blow into the device at various random intervals while driving.  There’s more:  the driver must pay the roughly $100 installation fee for the BAIID as well as a monthly rental fee of about $80 for the unit.  In addition, the driver must pay the Secretary of State a  $30 monthly monitoring fee.  Violations registered on the BAIID also may result in an extension of the Statutory Summary Suspension or cancellation of the MDDP. 

Suspended drivers caught driving in a car without a BAIID will be charged with a class 4 felony offense which carries a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years plus a fine.  There are some exceptions.  For example, a driver with an MDDP may be allowed to drive an employer-owned car for work without a BAIID.

Welcome the New Year responsibly, with caution and awareness of the law.  If you are arrested for DUI under these new laws, you are facing new legal ground.  Legal representation can help you navigate this new landscape.