Your Lake County, Illinois traffic ticket for speeding in a school zone is more serious than a regular, petty offense speeding ticket. Unlike in a regular, petty offense speeding ticket case, in which you might be eligible to receive a disposition of court supervision and keep a conviction off your driving record, in your speeding in a school zone case court supervision is not allowed. Your speeding in a school zone traffic ticket is a mandatory conviction offense.

The HoffmanLaw Office has many years of experience with helping drivers like you find their ways through dealing with Lake County school zone speeding tickets. As your legal advocate in Lake County traffic court, your HoffmanLaw attorney will work to protect your driving record and to achieve a positive resolution of your case. We defend clients charged with both the petty offense and misdemeanor levels of this violation.

The HoffmanLaw Office has effectively and successfully defended drivers like you against school zone speeding charges for years. We have a very solid understanding of the issues involved in your case. We are led by a former Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney, with years of former Lake County traffic ticket prosecution experience. If we defend you against your school zone speeding ticket— a type of ticket that could damage your driving record— we will use our many years of experience in Lake Country traffic court to diligently pursue an excellent result.



Your Lake County traffic ticket for speeding in a school is more serious than a regular speeding ticket. In many basic speeding ticket cases, you are permitted to resolve the charge without appearing in court. If you were ticketed for speeding in a school zone, you must appear in court before a judge.

Additionally, in a standard speeding ticket case, you may be eligible to receive a sentence of court supervision. Court supervision is a type of sentence that keeps a conviction from hitting your Illinois driving record.

In a school zone speeding case, you are not allowed to receive a sentence of court supervision for that charge. See, 730 ILCS 5/5-6-1(f). This makes your traffic ticket for speeding in a school zone a mandatory conviction offense. Because your speeding in a school zone ticket is a mandatory conviction offense, the HoffmanLaw Office views your ticket as more serious than a regular speeding violation.

More specifically, if you plead guilty to or are found guilty of a Lake County speeding in a school zone offense, you will be convicted of the violation. The traffic court judge simply does not have the option of placing you on court supervision for this type of ticket. If you are convicted, the Lake County court system will forward that conviction to the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. The Office of the Illinois Secretary of State then would record that conviction for speeding in a school zone on your Illinois driving record.

The Illinois speeding in a school zone law states that you are permitted to drive no faster than 20 miles per hour in a school zone. See, 625 ILCS 5/11-605(a)(3). According to this law, there are a number of factors required to be in existence to designate an area a school zone.

First, the day of the week must be a school day. Second, school children must be present and “so close thereto that a potential hazard exists because of the close proximity of the motorized traffic.” Third, the maximum school zone speed limit is in effect between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Fourth, signs must be posted on the streets and advise drivers that they are approaching a school zone, that they are in a school zone, and of the maximum speed limit in effect during school days when children are present.

Your Lake County speeding in a school zone ticket is a petty offense, punishable by, as stated above, a mandatory conviction, as well as by a minimum fine of $200 for a first violation and $350 for a second or subsequent violation, plus court costs. A petty offense is a type of ticket that is not strictly criminal in nature and does not carry a potential jail sentence.

If you are charged with speeding in a school zone at a rate of speed that is 26 or more miles per hour over the school zone speed limit, then you are charged with a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor is a criminal offense. We discuss misdemeanor speeding in a school zone further down this page.

School Zone Speeding FACTS

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Mandatory Conviction

If you are found guilty, your traffic ticket for speeding in a school zone is a mandatory conviction offense.

Minimum Fines

Speeding in a school zone has a minimum fine of $200, and of $350 for a second or subsequent offense.

Special Signs Required

Signs that comply with the Illinois school zone speeding law must be posted and designate the area a school zone.

Court Appearance Required

Your school zone speeding ticket requires that you appear in front of a judge in traffic court.

Maximum Speed Limit

Under Illinois law, the maximum speed limit in a designated school zone is 20 miles per hour.

On School Days

School zone speed limits are in effect on school days, when school children are present, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m..

The HoffmanLaw Office defends drivers against school zone speeding tickets at all of the Lake County, Illinois traffic courts. We have defended clients against school zone speeding allegations in the Lake County traffic courts for many years. We understand the issues involved in your school zone speeding case. We have a strong track record of success in reaching positive outcomes of school zone speeding charges.

As your attorney in your speeding in a school zone case, we will look closely at the facts involved. We know if you are found guilty and convicted of this charge, your driving record will suffer. For this reason, we will take your school zone speeding ticket very seriously. We will work hard to protect your driving record.

Not only does the HoffmanLaw Office have many years of experience defending drivers just like you against Lake County school zone speeding tickets, but we also have a proven track record of success in achieving excellent resolutions in school zone speeding cases. We have defended many such cases over the years where, through tough and persistent negotiation, we have successfully convinced the prosecution not only to reduce our client's charge but to agree to a court supervision disposition on a different offense entirely.

Our creativity in resolving school zone speeding tickets does not end with our proven ability to negotiate. It continues through the skills we use at trial. If we are unable to reach an agreement with the prosecution that favorably resolves your school zone speeding ticket, we will bring almost twenty years of Lake County trial experience to fighting your case at trial. The HoffmanLaw Office is dedicated to protecting your driving record and to keeping you on the road.

Our creativity in resolving school zone speeding tickets does not end with our proven ability to negotiate. It continues through the skills we use at trial . . . We will bring almost twenty years of Lake County trial experience to fighting your case.

~Attorney Matt Hoffman, the HoffmanLaw Office

Put Experience on Your Side

Your Speeding in a School Zone Ticket

We Advocate for Clients

The moving violation of speeding in a school zone is punished more severely than a regular speeding ticket. The speed limit in a school zone on school days, during school hours and when children are present is never more than 20 miles per hour. Drivers facing school zone speeding tickets also face higher minimum fines and mandatory convictions. The HoffmanLaw Office has a strong record of success defending drivers against school zone speeding tickets in Lake County, Illinois.

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Driving in Excess of 20 Miles Per Hour

While Passing a School Zone

On a School Day When Children are Present

attorney analysis of lake county school zone speeding traffic charges

Analysis.

The HoffmanLaw Office always is focused on the presumption of innocence. Building on this presumption, the HoffmanLaw Office performs a systemmatic and searching ANALYSIS of the facts alleged in your Lake County speeding in a school zone case. This intensive analysis exposes weakness in the prosecution's evidence and develops powerful defense arguments and strategies.

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Preparation.

The HoffmanLaw Office strives to know completely the facts and law of your case. In traffic court, good results do not often emerge by chance. They come through intense PREPARATION that lays the groundwork for success. When you select the HoffmanLaw Office as your legal advocate, you team yourself with a philosophy of extreme preparation.

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Results.

The HoffmanLaw Office views every time it appears in court with you as an opportunity to achieve RESULTS. Whether it is negotiating during a pretrial conference, cross-examining a witness, or delivering a closing argument at trial, the HoffmanLaw Office strives to be your best advocate at all times.

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Facing a Lake County Illinois Speeding in a School Zone Ticket?

There is an even more serious version of speeding in a school zone than the petty offense, non-court-supervisionable version described above. This is the misdemeanor speeding in a school zone ticket. See, 625 ILCS 5/11-605(e-5). Like its petty offense counterpart, misdemeanor speeding in a school zone does not permit a disposition of court supervision. It is a mandatory conviction offense. Also like its petty offense version, a misdemeanor school zone speeding ticket requires that you appear in court.

Your misdemeanor speeding in a school zone ticket is criminal in nature. This means it is punishable by jail time.

It is a class B misdemeanor to commit the offense of speeding in a school zone at a speed that is at least 26 miles per hour but not more than 34 miles per hour over the school zone speed limit. Your class B misdemeanor school zone speeding ticket is punishable by up to a $1,500 fine and up to 180 days in jail.

It is a class A misdemeanor to commit the offense of speeding in a school zone at a speed that is 35 or more miles per hour over the school zone speed limit. Your class A misdemeanor school zone speeding ticket is punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and up to 364 days in jail.

The HoffmanLaw Office works hard to protect drivers facing misdemeanor school zone speeding tickets. Not only do these charges prohibit court supervision, but also they are punishable by high fines and potential jail time. Both judges and prosecutors take misdemeanor school zone speeding tickets very seriously, especially since these tickets claim that you were travelling at a high rate of speed while children were present nearby.

If we defend you in your Lake County misdemeanor school zone speeding case, we will pay close attention to the potential penalties and negative outcomes we will be trying to avoid. We will look at the facts of your case and inquire about your driving record. We will put the facts into a favorable perspective when arguing your case to a judge or prosecutor in court. Not only will we seek to protect you against harsh potential penalties, but we will push hard for positive results. We are a goal-oriented law firm. We are forever in pursuit of positive solutions.

We understand that if you are facing a misdemeanor school zone speeding charge, you are defending a serious alleged violation. Yet, we know also that we might be able to favorably resolve your case by making strong and intelligent arguments on your behalf. We stand by our clients in Lake County traffic court. As your attorney, we will stand by you and dedicate ourselves to building a strong defense of your case.

We are a goal-oriented law firm. We are forever in pursuit of positive solutions.

~Attorney Matt Hoffman, the HoffmanLaw Office

Defending Serious Misdemeanor School Zone Speeding Tickets in Lake County Illinois Traffic Court

We are Here to Help

Why do I have to go to court?

A basic reason your Lake County speeding in a school zone ticket always requires that you appear in court is because it is a more serious type of charge than most other moving violations. It carries a mandatory conviction and a mandatory minimum fine. Since these minimum penalties exist, the courts have determined that your school zone speeding ticket is serious enough that you should be required to appear in court before a judge. Since you must appear, you are not allowed to request court supervision by mail for your school zone speeding ticket. Also, since a conviction is mandatory if you are found guilty, you cannot receive court supervision for this offense. The HoffmanLaw Office can appear in court with you and, with these governing laws in mind, still aggressively seek a favorable outcome of your case.

Is there a way to avoid a conviction?

Yes. There are multiple ways to avoid a conviction in your speeding in a school zone case. One way to accomplish this is by beating your ticket at trial. If your case proceeds to trial and the court finds you not-guilty, then the charge is dismissed. If the charge is dismissed, no conviction occurs and no sentence of any kind is imposed against you. In this situation, you will have beaten your case. Another way to avoid a conviction is to have your ticket dismissed for some reason other than trial. Yet another way to avoid a conviction is by convincing the prosecution to “amend” the original ticket to a different offense and by receiving court supervision on the amended charge. When it defends you against a school zone speeding charge, the HoffmanLaw Office considers all of these options in seeking to avoid a conviction in your case.

What if I wasn’t in the school zone?

If you were not inside a school zone where the police claim you were speeding, then the school zone speed limit should not apply to your case. You have the right to raise and argue this issue in your defense.

What do the school zone signs have to say?

Under the Illinois speeding in a school zone law, signs must be posted on the street designating the school zone. These signs are required to give drivers proper warning that they are approaching a school zone. These signs also are required to indicate the school zone and the maximum speed limit in effect during school days when children are present.

What can happen to my driver’s license?

If you are convicted of speeding in a school zone, standing alone that conviction should not trigger a suspension of your Illinois driver’s license. If, however, you have a requisite number of prior convictions for traffic related offenses already on your driving record then, in conjunction with those convictions, if the legal requirements are met, the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State could suspend your Illinois driver’s license. A conviction for speeding in a school zone also could affect your vehicle insurance rates. Also, if you are convicted of speeding in a school zone, and then convicted of additional moving violations in a specific period of time, the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State could suspend your driver's license on that basis.

Can I go to jail?

A jail sentence cannot occur for a petty offense speeding in a school zone ticket. A petty offense speeding in a school zone ticket alleges you were speeding less than 26 miles per hour over the school zone speed limit. A jail sentence can occur in a misdemeanor speeding in a school zone case. A misdemeanor speeding in a school zone case alleges that you were speeding 26 or more miles per hour over the school zone speed limit. Just because jail is a potential penalty in a misdemeanor case, by no means does that mean that it is mandatory.

Here to Defend You Every Step of the Way

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Bond Court

In Lake County misdemeanor and felony cases, if you are arrested you might be brought before a judge for a bond hearing. At your bond hearing, the judge will consider the charges, the alleged facts, your criminal history, and other factors. Then the judge will set the conditions of your bond. You might be released on your signature or have to post money before you get out of jail. Your bond hearing can be the first time you appear in front of a judge in your case. The HoffmanLaw Office has nearly two decades of Lake County bond court experience in misdemeanor and felony cases. If you have been or are going to be arrested, the HoffmanLaw Office is ready to get to work quickly as your advocate at this early and important step in your case.

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Preliminary Hearing

In a Lake County felony case, you have the right to a preliminary hearing or indictment. At your preliminary hearing, the prosecution will call witnesses to try to prove to a judge that there is probable cause that you committed a felony offense. If the judge finds probable cause, your case will be scheduled for arraignment. If the judge finds no probable cause, your charges will be dismissed. If no preliminary hearing is held, your case can be presented to the Grand Jury for indictment. The HoffmanLaw Office has almost two decades of experience with preliminary hearing and Grand Jury issues in Lake County felony cases. The HoffmanLaw Office knows how to assert your rights during this often technical part of your case.

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Arraignment

In Lake County misdemeanor and felony cases, at your arraignment the judge formally will advise you of the charges you are facing and tell you their maximum possible penalties. The judge will order the prosecution and defense to comply with discovery rules. These rules will require the prosecution to turn over copies of police reports and other written evidence. At your arraignment, you will be asked to enter a plea. Almost all arraignments include a plea of “not-guilty.” The HoffmanLaw Office has represented clients in many hundreds of Lake County arraignments. This Office knows how to defend and assert your Constitutional rights at this significant step in the court proceedings.

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Pretrial Conference

A pretrial conference is a court appearance after arraignment in a Lake County misdemeanor or felony case. At a pretrial conference, the prosecution and defense can work toward reaching an agreed resolution of your criminal charges. The HoffmanLaw Office views pretrial conferences, and every other court appearance in your case, as opportunities to advocate on your behalf. There can be multiple pretrial conferences as your case moves forward. During any pretrial conference, the HoffmanLaw Office is focused on the fact that you are presumed innocent. With this presumption always in mind, this Office has many years of experience in negotiating for positive outcomes in Lake County criminal court.

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Motion Practice

The HoffmanLaw Office uses pretrial motions to try to favorably alter the outcome of your criminal case. A carefully written and successfully argued pretrial motion can have a profoundly positive effect on the outcome of your case. This is especially so when, for example, the court rules your confession was involuntary, or rules you were the victim of an unlawful search and seizure, or rules you were inappropriately identified in a police lineup, or even rules your charges are so problematic they must be dismissed. The HoffmanLaw Office works hard to analyze the facts and law of your case in exploring the use of effective pretrial motions.

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Trial

At its core, the HoffmanLaw Office is a trial law firm. It is built on almost two decades of Lake County criminal court trial experience. If your charges do not resolve during the pretrial process, your case will go to trial. As your advocate, the HoffmanLaw Office will bring many years of Lake County criminal court trial experience to your defense. Attacking the prosecution's evidence, questioning the opinions of prosecution experts and police, and aggressively cross-examining prosecution witnesses are proven ways of raising reasonable doubt in the rigorous pursuit of a not-guilty verdict. The HoffmanLaw Office never waivers from its pursuit of your success.

Office Location

25980 North Diamond Lake Road Suite 112

Mundelein Illinois 60060

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