Daryl F. Dourado was arrested for speeding (at 103 mph) in Naperville last spring. This month he was sentenced to community service as part of his punishment.
Dourado was doing more than 40 mph over the 45 mph speed limit. His sentence included 60 hours of community service, a fine of $400, a year of probation, and mandatory attendance of traffic school.
These punishments reflect some of Illinois recent traffic law changes. Here’s Illinois Criminal Defense Lawyer Brett Appelman with more information.
Brett Appelman Comments
In 2011, Illinois changed a few of its traffic laws. The new law dictates that if you are caught speeding 40 mph over the speed limit, you will be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor. That is the same level of crime as a DUI. The potential punishments for this type of speeding ticket are:
- Up to one year in jail
- A fine of $2,500
- Community service
These new repercussions vastly outweigh the prior potential sentence for this offense which was only a fine of up to $1,000.
In addition, the new law mandates that a speeding ticket of over 30 mph over the limit is now a Class B Misdemeanor, which carries a potential sentence of six months in jail, a fine of $1,500, and community service.
Why these increased penalties? The state legislature decided to crack down on speeding after a series of high profile cases in 2010 showed that many speeders were getting sentenced to small fines, even for egregious cases like speeding over 100MPH.
Related Sources:
napervillesun.com
Illinois Criminal & Civil Defense Blog 