October 20, 2005 - Institute for Legal and Policy Studies Distributes DUI Sentencing Guidelines CD to Judges and States Attorneys at Special Training Sessions across Illinois
The Institute for Legal and Policy Studies (ILAPS) has recently completed a three-year examination of the DUI statutes under a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), which has resulted in the DUI Sentencing Guidelines. These Guidelines have been produced into CD-Rom, and four training sessions for Illinois Judges and States Attorneys on the DUI Sentencing Guidelines CD have now been completed
Between 1990 and 2002 Illinois had a large volume of DUI and alcohol-related statutes enacted and placed in either the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/) or the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/). In some cases, a newly enacted law was placed in both codes. In 2002 judges on the IDOT’s DUI Advisory Council recommended that an omnibus statute be developed with intent to place all DUI penalties in one Code or the other. This recommendation was issued because judges, as well as local State’s Attorneys, were concerned about the uniformity of sentences from county to county and, in some of the more complex cases, they were having difficulty determining the appropriate sentence intended by the Legislature. The IDOT, utilizing Highway Safety Funds, issued a grant to the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) to deal with these complex DUI statues.
The DUI Sentencing Guidelines are the culmination of the efforts of those people who directly or indirectly assisted in the drafting and passage of Senate Bill 2124, which became Public Act 93-0800, in the 93rd Illinois General Assembly. Public Act 93-0800 consolidated DUI penalties previously contained in the Illinois Vehicle Code and the Unified Code of Corrections and restructured them in Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
The original features of this grant were a set of paper flow charts and DUI Sentencing Guidelines Penalty Statements. This “paper copy” of the project was a substantial undertaking with 12 massive charts and over 800 pages of Penalty Statements. Because of the expense and the cumbersomeness of the paper version, the Institute for Legal and Policy Studies created a CD-Rom version of the DUI Sentencing Guidelines. This CD contains electronically navigated flowcharts and penalty statements in a highly accessible and searchable PDF format.
This summer ILAPS distributed the DUI Sentencing Guidelines CD to Judges and States Attorneys through short training sessions held around the state. The Institute attended the Illinois States Attorney on June 30th through July 1st in Chicago to publicize the DUI Sentencing Guidelines Training. Then during the months of July and August, the Institute conducted a total of four DUI Sentencing Guidelines Training sessions around the state of Illinois.
On July 28th, the first DUI Sentencing Guidelines Training was held in Oakbrook, Illinois. There were 20 States Attorneys and Judges present at this first training. Succeeding sessions were held in Springfield (August 8th), Mt. Vernon (August 17th), and again in Oakbrook (August 30th). Each training session was condensed into two hours in order to make it the training session more suitable for the demanding schedule of Judges and States Attorneys. All training sessions were held in Smart Classroom Computer Lab, where participants were taught a hands-on approach to using the electronic version of the DUI Sentencing Guidelines. There were a total of 65 participants at these training sessions. Judge Jeffrey Ford (Circuit Judge in the 6th Judicial Circuit), Nancy Easum (the Section Supervisor for the Alcohol and Substance Testing Section at the Illinois State Police), Carol Esarey (Training Coordinator at ILAPS), Bekky Lanphierd (Visiting Research Analyst at ILAPS), and Larry Wort (Project Manager at ILAPS for the DUI Sentencing Guidelines Grant) conducted the training sessions.
Many Judges, States Attorneys, and other judicial members who were unable to attend the training sessions have requested DUI Sentencing Guidelines CD and Manual. Along with many others, a Judge in Bloomington, Illinois requested 40 DUI Sentencing Guidelines CDs, while a Judge in Cook County requested 18 training manuals and CDs. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts has also requested 20 CDs. Thus far, 120 manuals and 350 CDs have been produced. Currently a total of 113 manuals and 247 CDs have been distributed. Because of the great response to this training an additional 70 manuals are currently being produced.
ILAPS is currently seeking additional funding from IDOT for the continuation of this training and to update the CD and manual. ILAPS would like to make this CD and manual available to all members of the Illinois judiciary. To request a copy of the manual or CD, please contact Bekky Lanphierd at (217) 206-6348 or rlanp01s@uis.edu.