People enter the criminal justice system from a variety of different backgrounds. Statistically, most people charged with drunk driving a.k.a. influenced driving a.k.a. driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or a combination of both, are first time offenders...
Who gets arrested in Cook County? How about DuPage County? Are more men arrested than women? More Blacks than whites? Some organizations keep a records of arrests, but generally it is difficult get precise numbers on the number of local, city or statewide arrests....
When I sit down with clients they are sometimes baffled by what they are charged with, especially, when the underlying conduct involves the taking of another person’s personal property. What is the difference between Robbery, Aggravated Robbery, Larceny, and Theft? In...
Most of the time defendants feel that they are overcharged and many times they are right. Other times, clients feel that their conduct was not as “bad” as the charge sounds. One example of this is burglary. In Illinois, Burglary is charged as 720 ILCS 5/19-1. 720 ILCS...
If you are charged with a criminal or traffic offense in Cook County you will likely be sent to one of the six district courts. The Circuit Court’s six districts and the areas which they serve are: First Municipal District – Chicago City of Chicago Second Municipal...
In Illinois, there are about 50 different “bodily harm” offenses described in the Illinois Compiled Statutes. For example, Assault, Aggravated assault, Battery, Aggravated battery, Aggravated Battery to a senior citizen, Domestic battery, Aggravated domestic battery,...
Public Urination or Defecation in violation of Chicago Codified Ordinance 8-4-081 is an ordinance violation punishable by a fine or jail time. In the City of Chicago, the most common place to get cited for public urination is Wrigleyville. Check out this Chicago...
In Illinois, there are about 16 different types of theft offenses: Theft (720 ILCS 5/16-1), Theft or lost or mislaid property (720 ILCS 5/16-2), Identity theft (720 ILCS 5/16-30), Online theft by deception (720 ILCS 5/16-40(b)), Online sale of stolen property (720...
In Illinois, there are several chapters of offenses in the Illinois Compiled Statutes relating to drugs. They are: You can read the full description of the drugs offenses listed under these chapters...
For Illinois residents to legally possess firearms or ammunition they must have a Firearm Owners Identification Card or FOID Card. The Illinois State Police issues the card to qualified applicants. An application can be submitted online or an applicant can apply via a...