For many decades in Chicago and other Illinois city courts, experienced criminal defense attorneys sought out special plea deals from prosecutors seeking “reduced” or “amended” charges so that the original charge of DUI could be changed to that of “Reckless Driving”. There were many reasons for this, including that: Reckless Driving just sounds much better...
Read MoreWhether you’re applying for a job, trying to get into a school or seeking anything else that might require a background check, the question often arises about whether your criminal history can be discovered. Once upon a time (about 30 years ago), before there was something called the internet (yes, there was a time when...
Read MoreBeing charged with driving under the Influence is serious business. In Chicago and in every courthouse across the State of Illinois, even a first-time misdemeanor DUI offender is subject to a maximum of a $2500 fine and up to 365 days in jail. Depending on the person’s criminal and traffic background, this maximum penalty may...
Read MoreIt’s 10:30pm. A Chicago Police Officer hits his lights and pulls over a motorist for speeding on Lake Shore Drive. The officer slowly walks up the window of the vehicle and asks the driver exactly how fast he thinks he was going. After all, the policeman explains, the driver was travelling at over 75 miles...
Read MoreTurn on any television show involving criminal lawyers, courts or crime, and you will undoubtedly hear about some defendant who has been charged with “assault and battery”. To most people, this charge means that someone has been charged with a crime for beating someone else up or injuring them in some way. Sometimes that is...
Read MoreYou’re driving down the highway when you see the red and blue lights in your rearview mirror. You slow your car to a stop as the police officer parks behind you and begins to exit has squad car. You think to yourself, “what would be a good excuse to tell the officer”? Well, here is...
Read MoreIt seems like you can learn how to do just about anything on the internet! You can learn how to make your own soap, treat a bee sting, or get a red wine stain out of your carpeting. The number of things that you can discover online are endless. If you’ve got a medical issue,...
Read MoreOur legislators in the Illinois House and Illinois Senate filed nearly 10,000 pieces of legislation during our State’s 100th General Assembly (which is also Illinois’ bicentennial year celebrating 200 years of Statehood). Of those, over 1200 passed both Houses and were sent to the Governor who then approved 1044 of them and vetoed 135. In...
Read MoreIn our last blog (Chicago Guide to Retail Theft - Part 1) we detailed a number of different situations regarding Retail Theft that can be found in the Illinois Compiled Statutes and are described therein as being against the law. Here in part 2, we explain several additional sets of circumstances that may also result...
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