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Recent Blog Posts
The Problem With Cheap Divorces In Illinois
When it comes to hiring an attorney for your family law or criminal law case, you can easily go with the most expensive or the cheapest option and hope for the best. Both have benefits and drawbacks, but the key isn’t whether you hire an expensive or cheap lawyer, it’s about the value that attorney provides you. If an expensive lawyer can get you out of a DUI, it may be worth the cost, and similarly, a cheap attorney can very well go in and win a case for a fraction of the price of a big law firm.
We preface this post with that statement because we’ve been seeing a lot of advertisements for “$99 Divorce” or “Cheap Flat Fee Divorce” in Illinois. Yes, at the outset they appear cheaper and may be your best option, especially if you’re having an amicable split with your spouse and you agree on a number of things, but it still may not be a good move to go with these law groups. We explain why you need to find the right value during your divorce in today’s blog.
What Are The Degrees Of DUI In Illinois?
DUIs in Illinois come in many different forms, meaning there are a wide range of potential consequences depending on the exact circumstances of your arrest. Some factors that influence your degree of DUI include if there were any aggravating factors, like driving without a license or having children in the car, or if you’ve had previous DUIs on your record. Today, we take a closer look at the degrees of DUI in Illinois, and what you can expect if you are charged with a certain type of DUI.
DUIs In Illinois
Here’s a closer look at the degrees of DUI in Illinois
Class A Misdemeanor – This is the most common type of DUI, and it doesn’t involve any aggravating factors, which means the driver didn’t injure anyone, they had a valid license and they didn’t have an extremely high blood-alcohol content. Potential penalties for a Class A Misdemeanor DUI include: Jail time of up to one year, fines up to $2,500, up to two years probation and potential license revocation.
Illinois Considering Increasing Speed Limits
Just three years after the state raised the speed limit to 70 mph on some highways, Illinois is again considering upping the speed limit.
Senate Bill 2036 seeks to increase the speed on a number of highways throughout Illinois. Here’s a look at the proposed bill.
House Bill 2036 provides that unless some other speed restriction is established under a Chapter in the Code governing rules of the road, the maximum speed limit outside an urban district for any vehicle is 60 miles per hour (rather than 55 miles per hour) on all highways, roads, and streets that do not have 4 or more lanes of traffic and are not interstate highways and 75 miles per hour (rather than 70 miles per hour) on Interstate Route 355, Interstate Route 80, and every interstate west of Interstate Route 355 and south of Interstate Route 80.
Should We Raise The Speed Limit?
The proposal has been met with support and opposition. Some people feel that drivers already exceed the posted speed limit, and they fear they’ll exceed the new limits in a similar manner, meaning 80 or 85 mph on the highway may become the norm. Others, like Kelsey Stevens, say it’s about time the state upped the speed limit.
Appeals Court Throws Out Old Sex Offender Banishment In Some Public Places
Many criminals pay for the consequences of their actions long after they have served their time in the eyes of the court. This sentiment is especially true for sex offenders, and rightly so, as they’ve committed serious sexual offenses against vulnerable individuals. They must adhere to strict guidelines for decades after a conviction, but when do measures taken to protect the public go too far in punishing a person for years after a conviction?
That’s the question that was asked by an Illinois appeals court this week while hearing a case of Marc Pepitone, a sex offender who was originally arrested back in 1999 and convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault. Pepitone was arrested again in 2013, but not for sexual abuse. Instead, he was arrested while walking his dog in the park, as Illinois has a law that bans convicted sexual offenders from a wide variety of public places.
Study Shows Alcohol Use May Predict Future Crime Likelihood
New research by the Violence Prevention Research Program found that alcohol may be a better predictor of future criminal behavior than simply looking to see if the a person has a criminal history.
Alcohol Use And Crime
For the study, researchers in in California examined data on more than 4,000 handgun buyers in the state between 1977 and 1991. Researchers looked at criminal histories of gun buyers beginning 15 days after they purchased their firearm. They then compared the data to gun owners who had previous convictions for alcohol-related crimes, like driving under the influence, drunken disorderly conduct, public intoxication, etc.
What they found is that individuals with prior alcohol-related convictions were between four and five times as likely as people with no criminal histories to be arrested for a future violent or firearm-related crime. Conversely, being arrested for previous violent or non-violent crimes was a weak predictor of future crime likelihood. Researchers concluded that this means alcohol use may be a better predictor of future criminal activity than having previous convictions.
Chicago Police Turn To High-Tech Solutions For Gun Violence Problem
There’s no question that Chicago has a huge problem with gun violence. In 2016 there were 762 homicides in the city, more than New York City and Los Angeles had combined. There has been no downturn in violence as the calendar has turned to 2017, but police are hoping high-tech solutions may help curb the problem.
ShotSpotter Technology
Last week, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson shared how police are now relying on a high tech system known as ShotSpotter to help identify where gunshots are occurring in real time so that officers can be dispatched to the area and hopefully catch the suspects. They are testing the systems in two neighborhoods that account for a large amount of gun violence, as more than a third of the homicides happened in one South Side and one West Side neighborhood.
Divorcing Couple Fights Over Wrongful Conviction Payment
Divorces are complicated, but in general lawyers and judges can fall back on previous rulings to issue a fair judgment. However, the situation gets more complex when you enter uncharted territory, like a recent Illinois divorce has. In that case, the couple is arguing over whether or not payment for a wrongful conviction should be considered marital property.
Asset Division in Illinois
Here’s a closer look at the case in question. Juan Rivera was released from prison in 2012 after serving 20 years for a 1992 rape and murder that was later overturned based on DNA evidence. Rivera was granted a $20 million settlement from the city, and he was set to receive about $11.4 million after taxes and attorney fees.
While he was imprisoned, Rivera met a woman named Melissa Sanders in 1998. The pair got married on October 31, 2000, but later divorced in July of 2014, more than two years after Rivera’s release from prison. During the divorce, the argument over whether Rivera’s wrongful conviction settlement should be considered marital property became a point of contention. The case went to trial, and the court ruled that Rivera’s settlement agreement should be considered a non-marital asset, saying that the proceeds resulted from injuries he suffered prior to the marriage.
Illinois Woman Blames Police For Her DUI
A Franklin Park woman gave an interesting excuse as to why she was over the legal limit when she was stopped by police.
According to the statement she gave police, Katherine Muhlenbruc, 25, said the only reason she blew over the legal driving limit was because she was pulled over too quickly for erratic driving. Had she been allowed to continue driving her car, she would have been sober by the time she reached her destination, according to Muhlenbruc.
“Unbelievably, the defendant in this case was so intoxicated that she actually tried to convince the officer that she was driving to sober up,” police Chief Tom Weitzel said. “Numerous avenues are available to those who chose to drink to get home safely, such as Uber and Lyft. Driving around to sober up is not one of them.”
Arrested Too Quickly
According to the arrest report, Muhlenbruc was stopped by Riverside around 4:15 a.m. early Friday morning after she was spotted crossing a double yellow line. Muhlenbruc told officers that she “wasn’t that drunk,” and that she only had three drinks at the bar, although she noted that they were “extremely potent” drinks.
What Happens If My Spouse Spends A Lot Of Money Before Or During A Divorce?
Going through a divorce is a stressful process, and many people cope with the feelings in different ways. In rare cases, divorce can bring out the worst sides in people, and their selfish or hurtful actions can have serious ripple effects. One question we hear from time to time in our family law practice is “What happens if my spouse hides money or spends outrageously right before or during the divorce process?”
Unfortunately we’ve seen cases where one spouse decides to spend a good chunk of marital assets either right before the divorce is filed, or during the initial stages of the divorce. Whether they feel slighted or entitled, they spend the money to try to gain something or unfairly hurt their soon to be ex. So how is this viewed by the court of law in Illinois?
Excess Spending Before a Divorce
There are a number of common things a vengeful spouse may look to buy using marital assets either before or during the divorce mediation. Keep an eye out for purchases like:
Three New Alternative Courts Certified In Illinois
The Illinois Supreme Court recently granted certification to three new problem-solving courts in Kendall, Peoria and Tazewell counties. Illinois now has more than 100 specialized courts throughout the state that can help provide better treatment and alternative options for certain offenders facing jail time.
Each recently certified court specializes is a different area of law. The Kendall County court was certified as a Drug Court, the Peoria County court was certified as a DUI Court, and the Tazewell County court earned its certification as a Mental Health Court.
Benefits Of Specialized Courts
These specialized courts have benefits for both the offender and the community. These courts, which are focused on solving a specific issue, provide more hands-on treatment and offer a way for offenders to get clean and deal with issues that led to their incarceration in the first place. It can also keep offenders out of jail, which doesn’t always have the intended effect on rehabilitating the person. Additionally, the specialized courts are cost-effective for the state
From our office in Naperville, Illinois, we serve clients throughout DuPage County, Kane County, Kendall County, Cook County, and Will County, including Wheaton, Aurora, Downers Grove, Lisle, Aurora, Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Yorkville, Ottawa, and Plainfield.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
50 S. Main St., Suite 200, Naperville, IL 60540
630-717-7801
