I Am a Former Prosecutor Who Will Fight for Your Rights
Traffic Ticket Defense
Keeping You Behind the Wheel
A traffic ticket can look minor on paper and still threaten your license. Illinois suspends driving privileges based on how many tickets you’re convicted of, not just how serious any one of them is — three moving violation convictions in 12 months is all it takes for most drivers. W. Scott Hanken has spent 37 years defending Springfield and Sangamon County drivers against everything from speeding tickets to license suspension, and frequently appears in court on a client’s behalf so they never have to take time off work to fight a ticket.
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A Former Prosecutor on Your Side
Most drivers assume a traffic ticket is something you just pay and move past. Often, that’s the most expensive thing you can do — a conviction adds points to your record, raises your insurance rates for years, and moves you closer to an automatic license suspension. Attorney Hanken evaluates every ticket for what it actually threatens, not just the fine printed on it.
He’s rated Avvo 10.0 “Superb,” has been voted “Best Attorney” by both the Illinois Times and the State Journal-Register, and has earned 270+ five-star Google reviews and 340+ five-star FindLaw reviews. His office is in Springfield, a short walk from the Sangamon County Courthouse where most local traffic cases are heard.
Traffic Violations We Defend
This office represents both Illinois residents and out-of-state drivers facing tickets issued anywhere in Sangamon County and the surrounding area.
Commonly defended violations include:
- Speeding tickets and reckless driving citations
- Speeding in a work or construction zone
- Illegal lane usage and improper passing
- Failure to obey traffic signals or stop signs
- Following too closely
- Leaving the scene of an accident
- Scott’s Law (Move Over Law) violations
- Driving while license suspended or revoked
- CDL violations, including logbook, overweight, and equipment violations
Accident-Related Traffic Offenses
When a traffic case involves a crash, Illinois law imposes specific legal duties on every driver involved — and failing to meet them turns a routine accident into a criminal charge, sometimes a felony one.
Common accident-related charges include:
- Leaving the scene (“hit-and-run”) — Illinois law requires every driver involved in a crash to stop immediately and stay at the scene. The exact charge depends on what the crash involved:
- Property damage only (625 ILCS 5/11-402): a Class A misdemeanor — up to 364 days in jail and a fine up to $2,500. If the damage exceeds $1,000, a conviction also triggers a mandatory 12-month license suspension.
- Personal injury (625 ILCS 5/11-401): a Class 4 felony, with mandatory license revocation.
- Death (625 ILCS 5/11-401): escalates to a Class 1 felony.
- Failure to report — separate from the duty to stop, drivers must report certain crashes to police within a specific window; failing to do so can result in its own charge even if you didn’t flee the scene.
- Reckless driving — operating a vehicle with willful disregard for safety, charged more seriously than a standard moving violation.
- Aggressive driving — tailgating, weaving through traffic, or road-rage behavior that can elevate or accompany other charges.
- Vehicular manslaughter / reckless homicide — when a crash results in a death, the driver can face this severe charge in addition to any traffic-specific offense.
- DUI accidents — a crash involving alcohol or drugs combines accident-related exposure with the penalties covered on our DUI Defense page.
Importantly, Illinois law doesn’t require intent for many of these charges to apply. Panicking, not realizing damage occurred, or assuming the other driver was fine can still result in charges — which is exactly why these cases benefit from an early, careful defense rather than an assumption that “it wasn’t really a hit-and-run.”
Only moving violations count toward an Illinois license suspension — getting a non-moving charge instead of a moving one can be the difference between a fine and losing your license.
A moving violation happens while the vehicle is in motion and involves how it was operated — speeding, improper lane usage, following too closely, or failing to obey a signal. These are the violations that accumulate points and count toward Illinois’s suspension threshold.
A non-moving violation doesn’t involve the operation of the vehicle itself — things like parking violations, expired registration, or certain equipment issues. These typically don’t carry points or count toward a suspension. This is exactly why a common defense strategy is negotiating a moving violation down to a non-moving one or to “court supervision” rather than fighting only over the fine amount.
The Illinois Point System: How Tickets Lead to License Suspension
Illinois doesn’t suspend your license based on a running point total — it suspends you after a set number of convictions within a set window, then uses points only to decide how long the suspension lasts.
The trigger is conviction count, not raw points:
- Age 21 and older: License suspension after 3 moving violation convictions within any 12-month period
- Under age 21: License suspension after just 2 moving violation convictions within any 24-month period
Once that threshold is hit, the Illinois Secretary of State totals the points from those convictions to set the suspension length. For drivers 21 and older, suspension lengths generally run:
| Points Accumulated | Suspension Length |
|---|---|
| 15–44 | 2 months |
| 45–74 | 3 months |
| 75–89 | 6 months |
| 90–99 | 9 months |
| 100–109 | 12 months |
| 110 or more | Revocation |
For drivers under 21, the thresholds are lower and the penalties steeper. Most traffic convictions stay on your Illinois driving record for 4 to 5 years; DUI, reckless driving, and hit-and-run convictions can remain permanently.
This is the single most important reason to fight a ticket rather than simply paying it — paying a ticket online is treated as a guilty plea and adds a conviction (and points) to your record, often without you realizing it’s pushing you toward suspension.
License Suspension & Revocation: Beyond DUI
A license can be suspended or revoked in Illinois for far more than just a DUI — accumulated points, unpaid fines, lapsed insurance, and certain violations can all trigger it.
Common non-DUI causes of suspension or revocation include:
- Excessive convictions — reaching the point/conviction thresholds described above
- Failure to pay fines or court costs — unresolved tickets can escalate to a suspension and even a warrant
- Failure to pay child support — the Secretary of State can suspend a license for contempt of court on unpaid support
- Lack of mandatory insurance — Illinois requires continuous liability coverage, and a lapse can trigger suspension independent of any ticket
- Scott’s Law and other serious violations — see below
(If your suspension is connected to a DUI arrest — a statutory summary suspension — that process and timeline are covered in detail on our DUI Defense page.)
Suspension vs. Revocation
Suspension and revocation are not the same thing. A suspension is temporary — your license is automatically eligible for reinstatement once the period ends and the reinstatement fee is paid. A revocation has no automatic end date; you have to apply and succeed at a Secretary of State hearing before driving privileges are restored.
If your license is suspended, you may be able to obtain a Restricted Driving Permit (RDP), sometimes called a hardship permit, allowing limited driving for work, school, or medical appointments. Reinstatement hearings can be informal or formal; formal hearings are held at Secretary of State facilities in only a handful of locations statewide, including right here in Springfield — which means a formal hearing doesn’t necessarily mean travel for local clients.
A suspension triggered by three convictions in 12 months, a DUI, or driving on a suspended license typically also requires SR-22 insurance — a high-risk filing that must stay continuously active for three years from reinstatement. Even a single lapse resets that three-year clock and can trigger an immediate re-suspension.
Scott’s Law (Move Over Law) Violations
Failing to slow down or move over for a stopped emergency vehicle is treated far more seriously in Illinois than an ordinary traffic ticket — and the penalties escalate sharply if anyone is hurt.
Scott’s Law (625 ILCS 5/11-907) requires drivers approaching a police car, fire truck, ambulance, or tow truck stopped with flashing lights to either move over a full lane when it’s safe to do so, or slow down and proceed with caution if changing lanes isn’t possible. The law applies to roadside work zones and accident scenes as well as routine traffic stops.
A violation with no damage or injury is typically charged as a petty/business offense with fines that can run into the thousands of dollars. If the violation causes property damage, it can become a more serious charge with an accompanying license suspension. If it causes injury, the charge can escalate to a felony; a violation that causes a death can result in even more serious felony charges. Penalty specifics vary by the facts of the case — worth reviewing with an attorney rather than assuming the minimum applies.
CDL Violations: Higher Stakes for Commercial Drivers
For commercial drivers, even a routine speeding ticket in a personal vehicle can put a CDL at risk — Illinois and federal rules apply CDL consequences regardless of which vehicle you were driving.
Under federal regulations, a CDL holder convicted of two “serious traffic violations” — speeding 15+ mph over the limit, reckless driving, improper lane usage, improper passing, following too closely, or using a handheld device while driving — within a three-year window faces a minimum disqualification period from operating a commercial vehicle. A third such violation within that window extends the disqualification further. A DUI in a commercial vehicle, or refusing chemical testing while operating one, can trigger an even longer disqualification on its own.
Because a CDL is tied to the driver, not the vehicle, any conviction — commercial or personal — can affect commercial driving privileges. Equipment violations are typically the exception: they generally don’t carry points and don’t affect CDL status, which is why negotiating a moving violation down to an equipment violation is often a meaningful goal for commercial clients specifically.
Court Supervision: Keeping Tickets Off Your Record
Court supervision is the single most effective tool for protecting your driving record from a traffic ticket — successfully completing it means no conviction and no points are ever entered.
When a judge grants supervision instead of a conviction, the case is held open for a set period. If you meet the conditions — often nothing more than staying ticket-free — the case closes without a conviction ever being entered on your record. That means no points, and the violation doesn’t count toward Illinois’s three-conviction suspension threshold. This is often negotiable even when the underlying facts of the ticket aren’t seriously in dispute, which is why having an attorney negotiate rather than simply paying the fine matters.
How We Fight Traffic Tickets
Many traffic tickets are won on technical or procedural grounds long before the question of guilt is ever argued.
Common approaches include:
- Appearing in court on your behalf — in many cases, you don’t need to take time off work or travel back to Springfield; we can appear for you
- Challenging the basis for the stop — officers need a valid reason to initiate a traffic stop in the first place. Scott’s Law in particular is sometimes used as a pretext for stops that don’t actually meet the statute’s requirements, and that validity can be contested
- Questioning radar, lidar, or other equipment — calibration and operator certification issues can undermine a speeding case
- Negotiating a reduction — to a non-moving violation, an amended charge, or court supervision, often without a trial
- Contesting the citation at trial — when the facts or the officer’s documentation don’t hold up
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What’s the difference between a moving and non-moving violation in Illinois?
A moving violation occurs while the vehicle is being operated and affects safety — speeding, improper lane usage, and similar offenses. A non-moving violation, like an equipment issue or expired registration, doesn’t involve how the vehicle was driven. Only moving violations count toward Illinois’s license suspension threshold.
How many tickets does it take to lose my license in Illinois?
For drivers 21 and older, three moving violation convictions within any 12-month period triggers a suspension. For drivers under 21, it’s just two convictions within 24 months. The exact length of the suspension is then set by the total points from those convictions.
What is court supervision, and how does it help my driving record?
Court supervision lets you avoid a conviction entirely if you meet the court’s conditions during a set period. No conviction means no points, and the ticket doesn’t count toward the conviction threshold that triggers a license suspension.
Will a traffic ticket affect my CDL even if I was driving my personal vehicle?
Yes. A CDL is tied to you as a driver, not to a specific vehicle. A serious moving violation in your personal car can still count toward the conviction thresholds that lead to a commercial driving disqualification.
Can I get a hardship or restricted driving permit if my license is suspended?
Often, yes. A Restricted Driving Permit (RDP) can allow limited driving for work, school, or medical needs during a suspension, depending on the reason for the suspension and your driving history.
Do I have to appear in court for a traffic ticket, or can my attorney go for me?
In many cases, an attorney can appear on your behalf, which means you don’t have to take time off work or travel back to the county where the ticket was issued. This is one of the most practical reasons to hire counsel even for a ticket that seems minor.
What happens if I just pay the ticket instead of fighting it?
Paying a ticket is legally the same as pleading guilty — it adds a conviction and points to your record. For many drivers, that quiet decision is what eventually triggers a suspension they didn’t see coming.
Is leaving the scene of an accident always a felony?
No. If the crash involved only property damage, leaving the scene is typically a Class A misdemeanor. It becomes a felony — and can trigger mandatory license revocation rather than just suspension — when the accident caused injury or death. Intent doesn’t matter under Illinois law; even leaving because you panicked or didn’t realize there was damage can result in charges.
More on Traffic Tickets from Our Blog
For deeper dives into specific traffic violation issues — moving violations, CDL concerns, and points on your license — visit our Traffic Ticket Defense blog category.
Schedule Your Free Consultation
A traffic ticket that looks minor can still move you closer to a license suspension you won’t see coming until the notice arrives. The sooner you have an experienced attorney evaluate the ticket, the more options — supervision, a reduced charge, or a full defense — stay available.
Call W. Scott Hanken at (217) 544-4057 or contact the office online to schedule a free, confidential consultation. The firm serves clients throughout Springfield, Sangamon County, and Central Illinois.
📍 1100 S 5th St, Springfield, IL 62703 ☎ (217) 544-4057 🌐 hankenlaw.com
This page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique — contact W. Scott Hanken directly for guidance on your specific situation.
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