Crime & Traffic

This Easy Form helps you ask the court to order someone to stop harming or threatening you, your children, or other household members.

Information about how the legal differences and punishments for assault and battery.

This Easy Form helps you ask the court to order someone to stop harming or threatening you, your children, or other household members. Email your forms to the court. For use only in Cook County.

As of September 18, 2023, Illinois courts no longer use a cash bail system. Instead, they use a “pretrial release” system as allowed by the SAFE-T Act. Learn more about this new system and what it means.

Explains the rules that people must follow for self-identification with the police.

Find out which Illinois ID is right for you and what documents you need to apply for a state ID or driver’s license.

Describes a person's eligibility for a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, gun ownership and use based upon prior criminal convictions.

This article explains what a bond is, the elimination of bonds in Illinois, and how judges now decide whether to release someone before their trial.

This Easy Form helps you ask the court to waive or reduce criminal court assessments. It can also help you ask the court to waive or reduce traffic court assessments in Cook County, Illinois.

Explains what you have to do if you receive a subpoena from the court. Do not ignore the subpoena. Failure to reply to a subpoena could result in charges of contempt of court, fines, and even jail time.

Describes the laws for using phones while driving

The police sometimes take property from people they arrest. This explains how to get that property back.

Driving under the influence does not only mean driving under the influence of alcohol. You can be arrested for DUI if you are under the influence of any drug. If so, your ability to drive will be impacted.

Explains the different levels of fireworks regulation on the federal, state, and local levels.

Explains Illinois state and city laws covering cyclists on the road and on sidewalks.

Gives a basic overview of the laws surrounding smoking in Illinois.

Describes when the Department of Children and Family Services DCFS would take protective custody of your children.

A blog about the Illinois Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Learn who qualifies for TASC probation and how to vacate a conviction after successfully completing it.

Describes what a criminal conviction is, how to appeal one and different types of sentences. You can ask for an appeal if you believe there was a serious error in your case. The appellate court will then review the issues you bring up.

Explains myth of having to bag liquor and having alcohol in a vehicle.

This article explains how being charged with a crime, being found guilty of a crime, and juvenile offenses can influence an immigration case.

Information on liability and bank fees for bad checks.

Learn about your options if you don’t qualify for expungement or sealing, including certificates and waivers.

This article explains initial steps to taken when someone you know has been arrested by the police.

Describes the protections you have under the Opioid Overdose Reduction Act.

Describes what a hate crime is and how to report it.

Reporting crimes to immigration and the effects on your application.