Driving on a suspended license in Illinois

Driving while suspended is a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois — and it extends the suspension by its own length. After a DUI it means at least 10 days in jail or 30 of service; skipping an available MDDP can make it a felony.

The offense, and the permits that are the exception

Section 6-303 makes it a Class A misdemeanor to drive, or be in actual physical control of, a vehicle on an Illinois highway while the license, permit or privilege to drive — or to obtain one — is suspended or revoked, in Illinois or another state. The exception is driving a permit specifically allows: a monitoring device driving permit, a restricted driving permit, a probationary license, a family financial responsibility driving permit, or a judicial permit issued before 2009. Inside its terms, a permit is a defense. One mile outside them, it is not.

Suspensions and revocations stack. A license can carry several at once, and “no revocation or suspension shall serve to negate, invalidate, cancel, postpone, or in any way lessen the effect of any other.”

What it does to the license

The Secretary of State acts on the conviction whatever the court sentences:

• Suspended: the suspension is extended for the same length as the original — or, if it has already ended, imposed again for that length.
• Revoked: no license for an additional year from the date of the conviction.
• Under an interlock requirement, driving a vehicle without a device: also an additional year before any license.

When the reason for the suspension was a DUI

The penalties step up when the underlying suspension or revocation came from DUI, from leaving the scene of a crash with injury or death, or from a statutory summary suspension or revocation. Then a conviction carries a minimum of 10 consecutive days in jail or 30 days of community service, and the sentence cannot be suspended to reduce it. A second conviction for driving while suspended or revoked brings at least 100 hours of community service; on a fourth the court may also seize the plates or immobilize the vehicle.

The felony traps

Three situations turn the misdemeanor into a Class 4 felony with a minimum of 30 days:

• Driving during a summary suspension when you were eligible for an MDDP. A first offender who could have had a monitoring device driving permit and drove anyway without it is in a worse position than one who took the permit.
• Driving a vehicle without an interlock while holding an MDDP or an RDP that requires one. The permit is not a defense for the vehicle it does not cover.
• A second violation while suspended or revoked for DUI-type reasons, where the earlier violation happened in the same kind of suspension — 30 days or 300 hours of community service.

Further up, a second violation that causes a crash with personal injury or death is a Class 4 felony; repeat violations while revoked for reckless homicide or aggravated DUI involving a death carry Class 4 and Class 2 felony penalties and a three-year bar on any license.

Why the MDDP matters here

The MDDP is the legal way to drive during a first offender's summary suspension: any purpose, any time, with a breath alcohol ignition interlock device installed within 14 days. Section 6-303's felony provision for MDDP-eligible drivers is the statute's way of saying the permit is the expected route. Illinois BAIID and MDDP covers it, and the summary suspension guide covers the suspension it rides on.

After a conviction: the road back

Each conviction under 6-303 pushes the end of the suspension or the start of eligibility further away, and the reinstatement fees still apply when it comes. After a revocation, the route runs through a formal hearing and, for repeat DUI offenders, through five continuous years on a restricted driving permit. Illinois license reinstatement and the restricted driving permit guide have the detail; where the chapter 7 financial responsibility provisions apply, the Illinois SR-22 is part of it.

Common questions