Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
Kane County Prosecutors and law enforcement officials have announced that Kane County will be conducting their 25th “No Refusal” DUI patrol over the St. Patrick’s Day Holiday.
The Kane County No Refusal DUI patrols started in 2008. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials will identify specific days of the year to send out patrols of police officers to pull over suspected intoxicated motorists and send a signal that drinking and driving will not be tolerated in Kane County. The specific days selected for the “No Refusal” DUI patrols are days which are associated with a high number of DUI arrests such as New Year’s Eve and the 4th of July. St Patrick’s Day historically results in some of the largest number of DUI arrests every year. Kane County officials will point to statistics which show that there has been a steady decline in the number of DUI arrests in Kane County since the “No Refusal” program started in 2008. What is not known is whether the drop in DUI arrests in Kane County is due to the “No Refusal” DUI patrols, or whether the drop in the number of DUI’s in Kane County has something to do with the increase in the use of ride-share programs like Uber and Lyft. Since the “No Refusal” patrols started in 2008, there have been over 150 arrests resulting from the “No Refusal” DUI patrols.
This year, Kane County Prosecutors and Police, have signaled that they will get tougher on punishing defendants arrested for a DUI during the upcoming “No Refusal” DUI patrols. In Illinois, if you submit to a breathalyzer test, and your blood alcohol level was .08 or above, your driver’s license in Illinois will be suspended for 6 months starting 46 days after your DUI arrest. If you refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test, your driver’s license in Illinois will be suspended for 12 months starting 46 days after your DUI arrest. This is called the Statutory Summary Suspension. The Statutory Summary Suspension kicks in as soon as you are arrested for a DUI and the Illinois Secretary of State is notified by the Police that you refused to take a breathalyzer test or that you took a breathalyzer and your B.A.C. was a .08 or more. If you are pulled over during a “No Refusal” DUI patrol in Kane County and you refuse to take a breathalyzer test, the Police will obtain a warrant allowing the Police to take your blood, without your consent, and use the results of the blood test to prosecute you for a DUI in Kane County. During the “No Refusal” patrols, additional Prosecutors, Police, and Judges, will be on duty and on call to process the warrant requests and to issue the warrants that will allow them to take your blood. A phlebotomist will also be on duty during the “No Refusal” DUI patrols to draw your blood.
In past “No Refusal” DUI patrols, if a motorist refused to take a breathalyzer test and the Police obtained a warrant to draw the motorist’s blood, and they were successful in obtaining a blood sample, they would not use the refusal to take a breathalyzer test to obtain a 12 month Statutory Summary Suspension of the motorist’s license because they refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. This time, prosecutors and police have announced that if a motorist refuses to voluntarily submit to a breathalyzer test, or refuses to voluntarily submit to a blood test, prosecutors will notify the Illinois Secretary of State of the refusal and will attempt to suspend the motorist’s Illinois driver’s license for 12 months because of the refusal. The question I have is why consider it a”No Refusal” patrol when a refusal will be used to suspend your license for 12 months when he purpose behind a “No Refusal”patrol is to make it impossible for a motorist to refuse?
This change in the Statutory Summary Suspension aspect of a No Refusal DUI arrest is a big deal. For many motorists, the Statutory Summary Suspension of their driver’s license arising out of a DUI, can be the most serious consequence of a DUI. Especially in a place like Kane County that does not have the public transportation that a more urban community like Chicago, Elgin, or Aurora, may have. A suspended license for someone living in a rural community Kane County can make it impossible for them to get to work or go to the doctor when the public transportation choices are not available. If your license is being suspended due to a Statutory Summary Suspension, you may be allowed to install a Blood Alcohol Interlock Ignition Device (BAIID) on your car which will allow you to drive during the Statutory Summary Suspension of your license. The BAIID is attached to your vehicle’s ignition and will detect any alcohol in your body and will disable the ignition of the vehicle. However, the fees and costs associated with a BAIID device may make it difficult, if not impossible, for many motorists to be able to afford to have a device placed on their vehicle.
The St. Patrick’s Day “No Refusal” will be on March 14 and 15.
James Dimeas, is a nationally-recognized, award-winning, DUI lawyer, with over-27 years of experience handling DUI cases in Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County. Recently, James Dimeas was named a “Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer in the State of Illinois for the Year 2018 and 2019” by the American Society of Legal Advocates. James Dimeas was named a “Best DUI Attorney” and a “Best Criminal Defense Lawyer in Chicago” by Expertise. James Dimeas was named a “Top 100 Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer” by the National Trial Lawyers. The National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys awarded James Dimeas the “Top 10 Attorney Award for the State of Illinois.” James Dimeas is rated “Superb” by AVVO, the highest classification possible for any DUI lawyer in the United States. The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys recognized James Dimeas as a “10 Best Attorney for Client Satisfaction.” Attorney and Practice Magazine gave James Dimeas the “Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorney Award for Illinois.
If you are facing a DUI, you can contact James Dimeas anytime for a free and confidential consultation. You can speak to James Dimeas personally by calling him at 847-807-7405.
Additional Blogs: