In recent years, police have begun cracking down on drinking and driving, taking it more seriously than ever before. Because of the direct correlation between fatal accidents and alcohol involvement, police have modified and refined their methods for determining whether or not a person is under the influence of alcohol when they are pulled over. Often, police already have a suspicion when they pull a driver over that they are under the influence of alcohol and will then conduct field sobriety tests to gain enough cause to proceed with DUI charges. Field sobriety tests can be beneficial when used in a pinch, but their validity has been debated for years.

Initial DUI Detections by Police

When a police officer first pulls you over with the suspicion that you have been drinking, he or she will be looking for various signs of intoxication. These signs can be gathered by the senses during face-to-face contact before the officer even asks you to step out of your vehicle. Signs the officer might be looking for include:

A new bill that was signed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner will amend the Illinois Controlled Substance Act to include more synthetic forms of marijuana, also known as synthetic cannabinoids. Senate Bill 2341, which was sponsored by Senator Jacqueline Collins, was created to hopefully severely limit the availability of these kinds of drugs, many of which have unknown side effects and some of which are known to be deadly. Manufacturers and those in possession of synthetic cannabinoids will be affected by this bill.

Bill Closes a Loophole in Law

Prior to this bill, there were many synthetic cannabinoids that were already illegal, but manufacturers could easily get around the law by making an insignificant change in the drug’s chemical structures. By making small changes, manufacturers could still sell the synthetic cannabinoid substances and avoid criminal charges because the new chemical structure was not illegal yet. The revised Controlled Substance Act provides that all synthetic cannabinoids are now illegal if they are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or if they are misused.

One of the most damaging crimes a person can be charged with is a sex crime. Because of their violent nature, sex crimes are taken very seriously, as are their allegations. In some instances, you can be forced to register as a sex offender in Illinois for the rest of your life. The sex offender registry is a state-wide system that contains information about sex offenders, such as where they live if they are compliant with registration requirements, their convictions, and photos of them.

Offenses Requiring Sex Offender Registration

According to the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act, registration is required when a person is convicted or adjudicated for crimes such as:

• Indecent solicitation of a child;
• Sexual exploitation of a child;
• Charges involving juvenile prostitution or juvenile pimping;
• Child pornography or aggravated child pornography;
• Sexual assault or abuse, or aggravated sexual assault or abuse;
• Predatory sexual assault of a child;
• Ritualized abuse of a child;
• Forcible detention, if the victim is under age 18;
• Indecent solicitation of an adult;
• Soliciting for a prostitute, pandering, patronizing or pimping, if the victim is under age 18;
• A third or subsequent conviction of public indecency;
• Custodial sexual misconduct;
• Sexual misconduct with a person with a disability;
• Permitting sexual abuse of a child; or
• Sexually-motivated kidnapping or abduction, or sexually-motivated aggravated kidnapping, if the victim is under age 18.

In order for you to be required to register as a sex offender, you must also have been:

You do not have to be convicted of a crime to have a criminal record - if you have been arrested or charged with a crime, you have a criminal record. Criminal records are public, meaning that anybody can see them, including friends, family, and employers. If you meet certain criteria, you can have your record expunged or sealed, meaning your slate could potentially be cleansed.

Expungement vs. Sealing

Though the processes to get your records expunged or sealed are very similar, they are not the same. Expungement is when your criminal record is either destroyed or returned to you, almost as if the events in the record never happened. The public nor police or the government can see anything on your record. Sealing is the process of hiding your record from the public but does not erase your record completely.

For years, people have been fighting for medical marijuana to be legal. Many people say there are numerous health benefits to using marijuana as a therapeutic way to cope with certain diseases and disorders. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to be medical marijuana patients anymore - it has been reported that there are over two million legal medical marijuana patients in the 29 states and the District of Columbia that have begun to make medical marijuana usage legal.

Prior to Illinois House Bill 4870, also known as Ashley’s Law, children who were using cannabis as a medical treatment could not use their medical marijuana medication while they were at school. The bill, which the Illinois governor signed into effect last week, allows parents to give a “cannabis-infused product” to their children while they are on school grounds or on a school bus. Cannabis-infused products can be foods, oils, patches, ointments or other cannabis products that are not smoked. The bill also prohibits schools from taking disciplinary action against students who use cannabis-infused products for medical reasons.

Bill Is Known as Ashley’s Law