As any parent of a young child knows, sometimes running errands while constantly buckling a tantruming or sleeping child in and out of a car seat is simply too much to ask. Frustrated and exhausted, parents will often lock a child in a car and quickly run into the grocery store or post office, complete their business, and hurry back out to find all is well. 

Unfortunately, even if the parent feels the child is safe, this may result in criminal charges. Under certain circumstances, Illinois law prohibits leaving young children unattended in a vehicle because doing so can place a child at significant risk. If you have been charged with child endangerment for leaving your child in a car, read on. 

Is Leaving a Child in a Car Really Child Endangerment? 

Many parents, especially those living in rural areas who grew up with plenty of independence, have a hard time understanding how a cautious parent who leaves a sleeping child in a car could be guilty of child endangerment. Yet a child left alone in a car is subject to many hazards, including: 

Continue Reading...

Having a gun on your person or in your car in Illinois without a concealed carry permit is a gun crime. Illinois does not allow open carry, which is the practice of openly having a firearm in public. Therefore, in order to go anywhere with a gun outside of your home, you must have a concealed carry permit in Illinois (excluding transportation of firearms, which only requires the gun to be contained in an enclosed case). 

Only people who are 21 and older, who have completed the appropriate training course, and who have a Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) may have a concealed carry permit, and only handguns may be concealed. While following these rules may seem onerous, they are absolutely essential for preventing criminal charges. If you have been charged with a concealed carry permit violation, you may want the help of a criminal defense attorney. 

Concealed Carry License Violations in Illinois

Certain areas may not have guns brought into them, even with a concealed carry license. Schools, government buildings such as courthouses, and buildings in state and national parks do not allow concealed carrying. Carrying or using a firearm illegally in these places, even with a concealed carry license, is considered an Unlawful Use of a Weapon (UUW) offense. 

Continue Reading...

Being pulled over on the suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) can create a situation where people feel the need to prove their innocence then and there. In doing so, they may think that they have no choice other than to complete a field sobriety test when prompted by the officer who pulled them over. 

While the logic makes sense, in all actuality, you do not have to agree to a field sobriety test in Illinois. Many people are not aware of this, but that is often because officers do not offer up that information unprovoked because it is not in their best interest to do so. 

However, knowing your rights is in your best interest, including the right to refuse a field sobriety test in Illinois. 

Continue Reading...

The process of filing claims or lawsuits after a car accident can be overwhelming. When another driver hits you, the process of exchanging information, contacting a lawyer, and filing a lawsuit or personal injury claim may sound straightforward. But what do you do if the driver who hits your vehicle is an Uber driver who is on the clock? Is the process of filing a lawsuit involving a rideshare driver different? 

Determining Liability in Ridesharing Accidents 

To start with, it is imperative to determine liability, which is not always easy to decipher. You will have a perspective in terms of who you believe is at fault for the accident, but in order for your viewpoint to be recognized as a fact, negligence needs to be proven on part of the rideshare driver. 

Not only is negligence a difficult factor to prove, but there are also opposing parties who may have different recollections as to what happened. If you have a dashcam or a nearby witness captured footage of the crash, this visual documentation of events as they unfolded is invaluable. 

Continue Reading...

Driving while drunk is a criminal offense in the state of Illinois. As such, if you are pulled over because you have been found to be operating a motor vehicle with alcohol in your system, you could be subjected to an array of penalties for breaking the law. 

Illinois Laws Regarding Driving While Drunk 

In Illinois, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) equal to or greater than 0.08% is considered intoxicated per se.  In other words, anyone driving a vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration that exceeds 0.079% is considered to be driving while drunk. However, it is possible to face arrest for driving under the influence even if your BAC is under the legal limit. It is also illegal to operate a vehicle if you are impaired by prescription medications or controlled substances. 

Individuals who are operating commercial vehicles, such as school bus drivers, with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.04% are also legally drunk in the eyes of Illinois law. If you are under the age of twenty-one and operating any type of motor vehicle in Illinois, you can face penalties under the Illinois Zero Tolerance policy if your blood-alcohol concentration exceeds zero. 

Continue Reading...