Currently, there are three classes of speeding offenses in Chicago and across Illinois:
- Petty offenses
- Class B misdemeanors
- Class A misdemeanors.
Convictions for speeding offenses may have serious consequences on a person’s life and impact their ability to obtain driving privileges in the future. Fines and costs for speeding offenses can be quite high and can cause severe financial hardship as well.
Petty Offense Speeding Tickets
A person who drives a vehicle on any highway in the State in excess of the maximum posted speed limit is subject to citation or arrest. A citation for 1-25 miles over the speed limit is considered a petty offense subject to a minimum sentence of court supervision and a maximum fine of up to a $1000.00. There is no possibility of a jail sentence on a petty speeding ticket. For adults over the age of 21, three convictions for petty moving violations, such as speeding during a 12 month period will result in a suspension of that person’s driving privileges. Obtaining court supervision is an important goal in these types of cases as it will keep a person’s driving record “clean” and not result in a judgment of conviction. Although supervision is notated for reference on a person’s driving record, it is not usually visible to insurance companies. Having a clean driving record is one of the biggest factors in keeping your auto insurance rates down.
Aggravated Speeding Charges
Aggravated speeding charges are considered enhanced speeding offenses and so the penalties are usually much higher than petty speeding tickets. Any offense for 26-34 miles over the speed limit is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to a 6 month jail sentence and a $1500 fine or a combination thereof. Court supervision is available as a disposition in a plea negotiation as long as an individual does not have any prior or similar aggravated speeding offenses in their driving history or background. A person may be ineligible for court supervision on this particular offense if it occurred in a construction zone or an urban district.
The third class of speeding offenses, and the most serious, is an offense of 35 miles or more above the speed limit. Any offense of 35 miles or more above the speed limit is a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $2500 fine. Court supervision is also available as a disposition on a Class A speeding offense through a plea negotiation as long as an individual does not have any prior or similar aggravated speeding offenses in their driving history or background. But just like the Class B aggravated speeding charges described above, a person may be ineligible for court supervision if the aggravated speeding offenses occurred in a construction zone or an urban district.
Contact an Experienced Traffic Lawyer
Until relatively recently in the history of Illinois, speeding tickets were not a major cause of concern as all speeding tickets were categorized as petty offenses only. But with recent changes to the law, new crimes of aggravated speeding and aggravated speeding in a construction zone have appeared on the legal landscape. In addition to the danger that a conviction may adversely affect your driving privileges and insurance rates, worries about how such a charge may affect a driver’s immigration and employment are now legitimate concerns. The experienced Chicago traffic violation attorneys of Mitchell S. Sexner & Associates LLC have successfully handled thousands of such cases. Call us 24 hours a day at (312) 644-0444 for free information about we can help you as well.
