The Ultimate Guide to Second Offense DUIs in Illinois

If you’ve recently found yourself facing a second DUI charge in Illinois, you’re likely feeling overwhelmed and concerned about what comes next. Luckily, at Driver Defense Team, we’ve defended thousands of DUI cases so we can tell you what’s going to happen.

It’s essential to understand that the penalties for a second offense DUI can be more severe than those for a first offense. Here’s what you need to know:

What is considered a “second offense?”

It depends who’s asking. The Illinois Secretary of State looks back just 5 years to see if you had a DUI in the past 5 years. If not, it’s considered a “first offense” for purposes of getting a MDDP/BAIID device.

But don’t make the mistake of confusing the Secretary of State with the court. They’re not the same. The court looks back through your entire history. So even if your prior DUI was 10, 20, or even 50 years ago, it can count as a prior DUI.

Plus, the court looks for DUIs in all 50 states, not just Illinois. So a DUI in another state can and will count against you (if they find it).

What about the outcome of my prior DUI?

Just because you are charged with a second DUI doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s your second DUI. If your first DUI charge was dismissed or you were found not guilty, technically, it’s not your second DUI offense. Similarly, if you had your first DUI reduced to reckless driving, it’s still considered your first offense.

However, if you received court supervision for your first DUI, it still counts as a prior DUI.

Is a second offense a Misdemeanor or Felony?

First things first, a second DUI is still considered a misdemeanor in Illinois DUI law. In other words, it’s not a felony just because it’s your second DUI offense.

The charge remains the same as a first offense DUI. The law states “first OR second offense…” However, the criminal penalties can be much more severe for number two.

But, it could be a felony if one or more of the following occurs:

• Your license is suspended or revoked from your first DUI at the time of your second DUI arrest, it’s likely the second dui offense is a felony.
• You were driving under the influence in a school bus under the influence with minors on board.
• While driving intoxicated, you caused great bodily harm, disfigurement, or permanent disability to someone else.
• You did not have a valid driver’s license or restricted driving permit at the time of the DUI.
• If it is your second (or more) DUI while driving with a child under the age of 16.
• If you commit a DUI while transporting a child under the age of 16, and cause great bodily harm to the child.
• If you commit a DUI having previously been convicted for reckless homicide while intoxicated or if you cause another person’s death.

What makes a second offense more difficult?

Well, it’s your second and having a history of DUI suggests a pattern. The courts might now view you with a stricter eye and as a result, the prosecutor or judge is less likely to cut you a break.

On your first DUI offense, you might have been granted supervision, which is a good outcome. The downside is that you are only permitted to get supervision once in your life for DUI. So an otherwise good outcome is now unavailable to you.

There’s also a possibility that your first DUI got amended to reckless driving. While that probably sounded like a great outcome at the time, you are now ineligible for both supervision and amending this DUI to reckless driving. Now your “middle of the road good outcomes” are all gone and you have a high-stakes win or lose case.

SSS Driver’s License Suspension

Another thing that makes a second DUI more difficult is the length of the SSS. After being charged with DUI in Illinois, your driver’s license is set to be suspended 45 days following the arrest, known as a Statutory Summary Suspension. For a second DUI within 5 years, if you blew over .08, your license is set to be suspended for 12 months.

If you refused the breathalyzer test test, expect your license to be suspended for 3 years. Compare this to a first DUI, where the suspension is only 6 months for blowing over .08 and 12 months for refusing the test altogether. It’s clear the stakes are much higher for a second time DUI offense.

Hiring an experienced DUI attorney can help contest the suspension of your driver’s license. Similar to the arguments we use to win the criminal charge of DUI, we’ve had success eliminating our client’s license suspension arguing:

• No Probable Cause for Stop – An officer cannot just stop you and place you under arrest for DUI without a reason. In fact, there is a legal standard the officer must meet called “probable cause.” We scrutinize the legitimacy of the traffic stop as well as the legal basis for the officer to suspect impairment. For example, if the officer indicates that the reason for the traffic stop was because our client ran through a red light and the police dash cam indicates otherwise, you can be sure that we’re going to argue that everything gathered as a result of the illegal stop should be thrown out. Additionally, if the video and reports don’t show obvious signs of impairment, we will argue that the officer had no probable cause to make the arrest.
• Patel – The prosecution must provide the driver a meaningful hearing prior to suspending their driver’s license for DUI. If the prosecution is late in giving your attorney the evidence, your second dui lawyer may be able to overturn or eliminate the suspension.
• Improper administration of Field Sobriety Tests – 
  • Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus – HGN testing, which observes eye movements to indicate consumption of alcohol, can be unreliable due to various factors like medical conditions or improper administration. By questioning the test’s accuracy and the officer’s training in conducting it, we can undermine the DUI charge’s foundation.
  • Walk & Turn Test – This field sobriety test can be significantly affected by factors other than intoxication, such as uneven terrain, footwear, or inherent balance issues. By emphasizing these aspects and questioning the test’s execution and officer’s interpretation, we often cast doubt on the validity of the DUI charges.
  • One-Leg Stand – This field sobriety test can be influenced by numerous factors unrelated to alcohol consumption, such as physical conditions, age, or even nervousness. By highlighting these alternative explanations for a client’s performance and questioning the test’s administration, we often weaken the prosecution’s argument.
• Test Ordered for Medical Purposes – There are many times that a driver gives blood after a DUI arrest. One important question is: Was the blood alcohol concentration test requested by law enforcement or medical personnel? We investigate this and it may mean the difference between a license suspension or not.
• Confirmation of Summary Suspension – In order for the police to try to suspend your drivers license after a DUI arrest because of a refusal to provide a BAC sample or providing a BAC above .08, the officer must prepare a “Notice of Summary Suspension” and send that to the ILSOS. The ILSOS then reviews it for accuracy and sends a confirmation of summary suspension to the clerk of the circuit court. If the confirmation of Statutory Summary Suspension is not in the court file within 30 days of the filing of the Petition to Rescind, this can be a basis for a rescission.
• Breath Test Operator Certification –  The operator must be licensed at the time of the test. If the operator’s license was expired or invalid, we challenge the legitimacy of the breath test results. Proving that the test was conducted by an unlicensed individual can cast serious doubt on the evidence’s reliability.

What’s Going to Happen In Court?

After receiving all the DUI evidence of your case such as: body worn camera from the police officer, squad video, police station video, portable breath test results, intoxilyzer test results, blood and urine results and even 911 calls, we will scrutinize every detail. We look for inconsistencies, technical errors, and procedural lapses.

Now if getting a dismissal or not guilty verdict is out of the question, then we will look into ways of minimizing the damages and impact to your life. We’ve got some work to do here and our firm creates mitigation packets that show why you deserve a break.

A mitigation packet includes documents that show your character such as: a letter written by your attorney, drug and alcohol evaluation, log of volunteer work, certificates of community service, character reference letters from family, friends, and mentors etc.

What about “reducing” or amending the DUI to reckless driving?

One possible outcome to your second DUI is what is called a “Wet Reckless.” This is a term used when talking about amending your DUI charge to reckless driving. So how do you determine if you are eligible for amending your DUI to reckless driving? Well first, you have to ask yourself a few questions:

• Have you previously had a DUI reduced to reckless?
• Have you previously gotten supervision on a reckless driving case?

If that answer is no, then you may be eligible for amending your DUI to reckless driving. But being eligible and actually achieving that outcome are two separate things.

Benefits of Reckless vs DUI

You will often hear amending your DUI to reckless driving as “reducing” the charge. But is it really reduced? No. Both a misdemeanor DUI and reckless driving are classified as a Class A misdemeanor.

But it does come with benefits and that is why it is often a good outcome.

The first and a big one is that, unlike a DUI charge, your driver’s license does not get automatically revoked if you’re convicted of reckless driving. 

An amendment to reckless driving can also have lower court costs than a DUI. 

Penalties for Reckless Driving in Illinois

Again a Reckless driving offense is still a serious offense. It is Class A misdemeanor meaning that it may result in up to 1 year jail time and a maximum fine of $2,500. But compared to a DUI it will likely have less of an impact on your driver’s license. 

It’s important to realize that if you are eligible for an amendment to reckless driving, you don’t just automatically get it. It is your DUI defense attorney’s role to convince the prosecutor that you deserve a break.

Important Factors To Consider

When the situation calls for it, a skilled DUI focused attorney will work with you to get that outcome. What factors will influence whether you get it?

✅ How long ago was your first DUI? If your DUI was a long time ago, you’re viewed more favorably than if you got the prior DUI last year.

✅ Was there an accident? Involvement of any car accident, especially with bodily harm, will not be a good look and makes it less likely your DUI will be reduced.

✅ What were the results of your breathalyzer? If your breathalyzer results were extremely high, the prosecutor is not going to feel compelled to give you a break.

✅ Were there obvious signs of impairment? If you were acting belligerent during the arrest, showed erratic driving, or any other signs of obvious severe impairment then this could drastically affect your chance of getting your DUI reduced to reckless driving.

What Happens if You Get Convicted of DUI?

Now, let’s talk about the worst-case scenario: conviction. A good DUI-focused attorney will do everything possible to avoid conviction because the penalties are severe.  At minimum, a second DUI conviction typically means 5 days behind bars or 240 hours of community service. At maximum, it could result in 364 days jail time and a fine of up to $2,500.

And that’s just the short term consequences. It can have a significant effect on current and future job opportunities, background checks, and can greatly increase insurance rates or even outright deny you of certain coverage. And perhaps most importantly, a DUI conviction will result in a revocation of your Illinois driving privileges.

The gist of it is that you do not want a DUI conviction, and the best way to avoid that is to hire a good DUI focused attorney.

Why choose Driver Defense Team Second DUI Lawyers?

At Driver Defense Team, we take your concerns seriously. We will take the time to understand your priorities and customize a strategy that aligns with your needs. With your own team of case managers and seasoned attorneys you will never go more than 2 weeks without hearing from us.

With 121 combined years of DUI experience, we are the right people to help you get the best possible outcome. DUIs are our focus, and every day our nine DUI lawyers are in court all over Cook, Kane, DuPage, and Lake County defending people just like you.

Are you ready to put your DUI behind you? Call or text us at (312) 940-8330.