Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
Imagine being a professional driver in Chicago—logging long hours on the Eisenhower Expressway, handling deliveries around Cicero or Joliet—and suddenly being arrested for DUI after driving home from dinner in your personal vehicle. The flashing lights, the officer’s questions, and a momentary lapse can set off a chain reaction that endangers your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), your career, and your future.
At The Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C., we’ve represented countless drivers across Cook County, DuPage County, and Will County who discovered that a personal-vehicle DUI carries the same, if not harsher, professional penalties as one committed behind the wheel of a commercial truck.
Illinois law, under 625 ILCS 5/11-501, makes it illegal to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or intoxicating compounds, or with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or more. But for commercial drivers, federal law lowers that threshold to 0.04 BAC when operating a commercial vehicle under 49 CFR § 383.51. The problem is that a DUI in any vehicle—personal or professional—still triggers CDL disqualification.
