The Chicago
Tribune reported last week that the city and county prosecutors are
going to provide traffic court judges with a more detailed driving background
for those charged with speeding tickets. Typically in the past drivers who were
charged with a speeding ticket in Cook County would only have their Illinois
driving record examined before a plea offer was made. As long as the driver had
less than three (3) speeding tickets within a year’s time, then they would be
eligible for court supervision. Court supervision is a limited type of
probation, which if completed (no other traffic or criminal violations within a
set period of time), then the ticket was removed from the driver’s records and
it was not considered a conviction. Typically, a plea agreement involving
supervision also involves the payment of a fine and court costs, and
occasionally community service.
The Tribune reported that traffic judges will now have
a driver’s complete driving history at their disposal, which will include any
out of state tickets received within the last year.
Under the new process,
which is scheduled to begin next month, county clerk’s office will
electronically transmit the names and driver’s license numbers for all the
minor traffic cases to the secretary of states’ office, which will run the
driver’s name through a national database.
Prosecutors will then
have the information available to present to the judge when the defendant
appears in court. “This is a tremendous leap forward in (judges’) ability to
help keep the public safe by keeping dangerous drivers off the road,” said
Lynda Peters, who supervises Chicago’s traffic court prosecutors.
This creates an issue
for many Cook County drivers who like to speed and are prone to tickets. Three
(3) speeding convictions within a year can result in a suspension of the driver’s
license. Time will tell whether this new process actually leads to fewer
speeders on the road and, more importantly, leads to less car accidents.
If someone you love has
been seriously injured in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident,
then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-588-3384