Our next client came from out of state and did not reside in the State of Illinois for almost the past five years.  He lived in the state of Michigan and was intending to move down to the state of Florida.  He did not intend to ever live in Illinois again, but due to the fact of the problem driver pointer system, an interstate reporting computer network, our client was not able to obtain a driver's license in either the state of Florida or in Michigan due to the fact that his Illinois license needed to be cleared prior to those states issuing him a new driver's license.

Our client had three DUI arrests over a 12-year period.  Two of those DUI's occurred in the state of Illinois, one of those in the state of Michigan.  The two DUI's in Illinois resulted in DUI convictions and the third DUI that was in the state of Michigan was dismissed.  Because only one of his DUI's was in the past 10 years, our client was not BAIID mandatory and therefore was eligible for the Secretary of State for complete clearance of his driver's license.

Our client came in after doing treatments through a provider that we deal with at the Level II – Significant Risk classification.  Our client indicated that he had been abstinent since shortly after his last DUI, which was several years prior to the hearing.  He testified at the hearing that he had experienced the following indicators of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) symptoms of alcohol/drug abuse/dependence: Hangovers and increased tolerance.  Our client also admitted that he was a problem drinker/user.  After completing 20 hours of outpatient treatment with the treatment provider that we referred him to, he was able to go over and testify to the Secretary of State regarding his treatment experience.  At the hearing our petitioner testified that he learned he was abusing alcohol and his drinking problem was due to his peer group and stress.  He made significant changes to his lifestyle by choosing to abstain from alcohol, changing his socializing habits in that he no longer associated with certain individuals and he no longer went to bars and he spent more time on his career.  We also attempted to secure a copy of his driving record in the other states where he had previously held driving privileges, namely the state of Michigan.

After the hearing, the Secretary of State found that for the foregoing reasons, our client had carried his burden of proving that he has satisfactorily resolved his alcohol problem and that he would be a safe and responsible driving if granted driving relief, therefore, the Secretary of State found that our client was an acceptable candidate for the reinstatement of full driving privileges.  Our client thus obtained complete clearance in the state of Illinois so that he could then live out of state and get a new driver's license.