Drunk driving leads to thousands of accidents each year. In an effort to reduce the incidence of drunk driving accidents, Illinois has instituted strict penalties for those who drive while intoxicated. One such penalty is the loss of driving privileges.

If your driver’s license was suspended or revoked due to a DUI offense, you may be eager to get your license back and get back on the road legally. Read on to learn about how alcohol addiction recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) may help you reinstate your driver’s license.

License Reinstatement Hearings in Illinois

To get your license back after it was revoked, you will need to a attend a hearing with a hearing officer and/or Secretary of State (SOS) representative. Formal hearings are, as the name suggests, much more formal in nature. Informal hearings are more casual. However, the purpose of these meetings is the same: The hearing officer and SOS representative are evaluating you to determine if you should get your license back. You will need to prove to them that you are not a threat to the public and that you will not drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Participation in support groups like AA is a great way to demonstrate that you are serious about avoiding drunk driving in the future. In some cases, participation in a group like this is required.

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to the question of, "Can I reinstate my driver's license online in Illinois?" This is because the process of reinstating a driver's license will follow either the suspension or the revocation of a driver's license. As such, your options when it comes to driver's license reinstatement will depend on the details of your situation. 

Reinstating a Driver’s License Online in Illinois

If you were subject to a driver’s license suspension, you may be able to complete the driver’s license reinstatement process online. However, this is not always an option. 

If your license was revoked, this revocation is indefinite. The only way to get your license back is to follow the guidelines set forth by the Illinois Secretary of State (SOS). Depending on your risk classification, you may be required to attend drug and alcohol treatment, an early intervention program, or take a class about the dangers of intoxicated driving. To reinstate a revoked license, you will need to attend either a formal or informal hearing with the SOS. 

Parents try to teach their children right from wrong. Unfortunately, it is sometimes impossible to prevent children and teenagers from making poor decisions or getting caught up in the wrong crowd. If your teen was recently caught drinking and driving, you may be confused about what to do. You may ask, “Will my child lose their license or face criminal charges?” Read on to learn about the potential consequences of an underage DUI charge and how your child may qualify for driver’s license reinstatement.  

Under 21 Drunk Driving Charges

The legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for individuals aged 21 or over is 0.08 percent. Because Illinois has a zero-tolerance policy for underage drivers, the legal limit for those under 21 is anything greater than zero. Put another way, driving with any amount of alcohol in your body is illegal if you are younger than 21.

If your child was arrested after a breath alcohol test showed his or her BAC was above 0.01 percent, he or she faces a three-month driver’s license suspension. If this is your child’s second offense, the driver’s license suspension period is one year. Individuals subject to driver’s license suspensions are prohibited from driving any vehicle. Driving with a suspended license is a criminal offense.

The State of Illinois utilizes a classification system that categorizes drivers convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) according to risk. Convicted drivers are assigned an alcohol education/ treatment program according to their risk level. This program must be completed before they can schedule a hearing before the Secretary of State and have their driving privileges reinstated.

To determine risk, the State requires all defendants to undergo a drug and alcohol use evaluation which will determine if they have a substance abuse problem and assess the likelihood they will re-offend. During the evaluation, the examiner will ask the defendant questions about their past and present use of drugs and alcohol.

The Three Risk Categories

The three risk categories are:

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can lead to several administrative and criminal consequences, including the loss of driving privileges. Depending on the circumstances of the alleged drunk driving, the driver’s past criminal history, the results of a breath alcohol test, and other factors, drivers may face a driver’s license suspension or revocation.

While a driver’s license suspension eventually terminates, a revoked license must be reinstated. The driver’s license reinstatement process is the process through which a driver may be granted full or partial driving privileges. One of the most important aspects of the reinstatement process is the drug and alcohol evaluation.

Assessing a Driver’s Risk

Drunk driving is estimated to contribute to a third of all fatal traffic accidents. Driving while intoxicated puts the driver, passengers, other motorists, and pedestrians at risk. To reduce the incidence of drunk driving, Illinois has instituted strict penalties for those convicted of DUI, including driver’s license revocation.