NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect the law as of 2020. The penalties listed pursuant to 625 ILCS 5/11-501 include all the newest penalties for driving with THC (Cannabis/marijuana) in your system. You are heading home from having a couple drinks with friends . . . and you see flashing lights behind you. […]
blood alcohol concentration
In an historic vote, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended today that all 50 states lower the legal limit from 0.08 to 0.05 for driving under the influence. At the present time, all 50 states have a limit for the alcohol concentration in any person’s blood or breath of 0.08. Anyone who operates a motor […]
An important decision was just handed down by the United States Supreme Court concerning driving under the influence. In Missouri v. McNeely, the court was asked to decide whether it was unconstitutional to take blood by force without a search warrant. The court held that when a DUI suspect refuses a blood test, the police […]
The breathalyzer test that is part of nearly all driving under the influence arrests serves as the State’s best evidence that the driver is guilty. A result of 0.08 or more is per se a violation of 625 ILCS 5/11-501. But the breath test does more. A high breath alcohol concentration can subject the defendant […]
The legal limit for alcohol while operating a motor vehicle in Illinois is 0.08 percent. Many people are mistaken that a person is guilty of driving under the influence only if his alcohol level is over 0.08. This is not the case. The legal limit is anything greater than 0.079. An alcohol concentration in a […]