In Illinois, the minimum legal drinking age is 21 years. If you are under age 21 and convicted of DWI, the office of the Secretary of State will immediately revoke your driving privileges for a minimum of two years. If you are convicted for the second time, your license will be suspended for a minimum of five years or until you reach age 21, whichever is longer. Likewise, a third DWI conviction which is considered a Class 4 felony will result in a minimum ten year license revocation. A fourth DUI conviction will result in a lifetime revocation. Your license will also be suspended for conviction of illegal possession of alcohol.

When charged with a DWI in Illinois, the office of the Secretary of State will also issue a restricted license after one year. However, it will not be issued if you are under the age of 16 and will be applicable for one year. You will also have to pay a fine of up to $2,500 and given a jail sentence of up to one year along with participating in a Youthful Intoxicated Driver’s Visitation Program.


The first time offense, your child will not have jail time. However, they face 48 hours of jail if it is a second offense. This can be changed to community service for ten days. The third offense will not get any kind of lenience as it will be treated as felony with severe consequences. They will face jail time up to three years and fines as high as $25,000. It will take up to 10 years to get the driver’s license again. Fourth offenses will result in permanent revocation of the license.

Underage DWI

If your child is under 21 and are arrested for having traces of alcohol in their system while operating a motor vehicle, their driving privileges will be suspended for three months. If they refuse to submit to testing when stopped for DWI, their license will be immediately suspended for six months. The license will be suspended from the 46th day from the notice date and will not be terminated until the reinstatement fee is paid and your record is updated.


If your child is under 18, they need to complete a driver remedial education course to make the driving privileges valid again. They will have to go through a complete examination for the license to be re-issued.

Alternatives to Jail

There are many alternatives for jail time if your child is arrested and convicted for a DWI. You need to seek the help of a criminal defense attorney to properly determine the best alternative to choose for the specific case. Alternatives to jail include alcohol and drug rehabilitation and stopping drinking, electronic monitoring and not allowing the minor to go out for parties and other places where there are chances of getting alcohol or you can consider community service. Since it is not possible to serve the jail time for your child yourself (and really, how many parents would really do that?), it is better to opt for one of these alternatives to rehabilitate your child and avoid future DWI problems.