via Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
SPRINGFIELD — Three days after Kelsey Little was hit and nearly killed by a pickup truck, the underage driver of the vehicle got his license from the secretary of state’s office with no questions asked.
The incident permanently scarred the then-13-year-old Minooka girl and her family, but the damage turned into a rallying point that culminated yesterday in Gov. Patrick J. Quinn’s signing of “Kelsey’s Law,” which forbids drivers age 18 or younger from getting their license if they have an outstanding traffic citation.
“We clearly saw that there was a problem,” said Martin A. Dolan, a partner at Dolan Law P.C. who represented Little and her family in a civil case against the driver and petitioned Secretary of State Jesse White to adjust the law.
“Three days after this horrific accident and he gets his driver’s license — and at the same time she was recovering, in a life-or-death situation.”
House Bill 1009, sponsored by Rep. John D’Amico and Sen. Martin Sandoval, both Chicago Democrats, also allows the secretary of state to retroactively invalidate a license if a minor had a citation for which a disposition had not been rendered when the license was issued.
Additionally, it lets prosecutors request a court to invalidate a driver’s license if he or she caused death or serious injury while breaking traffic rules.
Dolan said Little still suffers from headaches as a result of the incident nearly two years ago, but has more or less recovered as she heads into her sophomore year of high school.
“She’s come to a point where she feels she’s back to herself again,” he said. “She gets headaches, and she’s just conscientious of the scar — but she’s a promising kid, and I think she’ll move on.”
The law is effective immediately.
Other legislation Quinn signed over the past few days includes:
•House Bill 1010, or “Patricia’s Law,” named after Patricia McNamara, a girl who was killed by a distracted driver.
The law, which goes into effect immediately, takes away the sentencing option of court supervision if a person is charged in connection with a fatal accident and already has a previous supervision on his or her record.
“These new laws will make our roads safer for drivers and passengers by keeping more distracted and dangerous drivers from getting behind the wheel,” Quinn said in a statement.
•Senate Bill 1659, which increases the income tax credit from a maximum of $600 for businesses that hire ex-convicts to $1,500 per offender. The tax credit is applicable if an offender is hired within three years of his or her release from incarceration. The law goes into effect immediately.
•House Bill 3010, which creates a “second chance probation” option for nonviolent offenders, allowing a person’s record to be cleared of a conviction in certain cases if he or she completes at least two years of probation. That law takes effect Jan. 1.
High court expands e-filing
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Monday that Lake County will now be able to participate in a 2nd Appellate District pilot program allowing people to view a case’s official record of appeals electronically.
The move is aimed at reducing the costs and effort involved in transporting the trial record to and from the appellate clerk’s office.
“The big picture for us in Lake County is we’re really going through a modernization of the office. This is a part of it,” said Lake County Circuit Clerk Keith S. Brin.
Brin noted that his office will still work with a physical copy of the trial record, so the push for electronic filing will take added effort. But he said he’s OK with that.
“If we can add to the Second District’s ability to go to the Supreme Court and say ‘It’s working,’ then it’s worth it,” Brin said.
DuPage County was the first member of the pilot project in 2005. With the addition of Lake, 12 of the 13 counties in the district now are members of the program.
Crackdown on fake attorneys
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster introduced a bill in Congress last week that aims to punish people who pose as attorneys for immigrants.
The measure would impose a fine, a potential 10-year prison sentence or both on those who knowingly misrepresent themselves as attorneys for immigrants eager to obtain citizenship in the United States.
“It’s something that’s been happening a lot in our district,” said Megan Jacobs, a spokeswoman for Foster.
Foster represents the 11th Congressional District, which has a large Hispanic population and primarily encompasses suburbs including Aurora, Bolingbrook and Joliet.
Perpetrators billing themselves as “notarios” often promise to handle paperwork or put immigrants on the fast-track to obtaining legal status before bailing with money in hand. The problem has been around for decades — well before the latest round of immigration reform negotiations on Capitol Hill.
Foster is working on the legislation with U.S. Rep Ted Deutch, a Democrat from Florida.
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