Criminal Defense & DUI · DuPage County, Illinois
Focused defense for DUI and criminal matters across DuPage County, with your record and your future treated as the priority.
A felony charge is the most serious thing most people will ever face. A conviction can mean years in prison, but the lasting damage often comes after — the permanent record that costs you jobs, housing, professional licenses, and even certain rights. The stakes are too high to face alone or to trust to whoever is cheapest. We defend people charged with felonies across DuPage County, scrutinizing the evidence, protecting your constitutional rights, and fighting for the best outcome the facts allow — whether that is dismissal, reduction to a misdemeanor, or acquittal at trial.
We represent clients facing felony charges across DuPage County and the western suburbs, in cases ranging from drug offenses and serious theft to aggravated DUI, weapons charges, and violent crimes. You work directly with the attorney on your defense, we get involved as early as possible — ideally before charges are even filed — and we build the case methodically, because in a felony nothing should be left to chance. From bond to investigation to trial, we stand between you and the full weight of the State.
Property, drug, violent, and white collar felonies in DuPage and Cook County.
Burglary, theft over $500, criminal damage to property, identity theft, forgery, Class 4 to Class 1.
Possession with intent, distribution, manufacturing, drug-induced homicide. Cannabis offenses post-legalization still exist.
Aggravated battery, aggravated assault, armed robbery, domestic battery with priors. Class 3 to Class X.
Aggravated DUI involving death, injury, child passenger, no license, or third+ offense. Mandatory prison exposure.
Embezzlement, financial exploitation, identity theft, mortgage fraud, money laundering. Detail-intensive defense.
Aggravated unlawful use of weapon, felon in possession, illegal sale. FOID-related charges have technical defenses.
Bond set within hours. We can appear at bond hearing to advocate for release on recognizance or lower bond.
State must establish probable cause within 30 days. Sometimes results in dismissal or reduction.
We obtain all evidence, file motions to suppress, challenge search and seizure, attack witness reliability.
Most felonies resolve through negotiated plea. We don’t take pleas without first exposing the State’s weaknesses.
We know the DuPage and Cook County prosecutors and judges. That knowledge informs strategy.
We’ve tried felony cases to verdict. That credibility shapes plea negotiations even when we don’t go to trial.
Suppression motions, motions to dismiss, motions in limine, pre-trial motions often shape or end cases.
We work with investigators to develop alibi witnesses, contradicting evidence, and impeachment material.
Forensic experts, eyewitness identification experts, drug recognition experts, when the case needs them, we have them.
When conviction is unavoidable, we negotiate aggressively at sentencing, probation vs prison, county vs state, mitigation evidence.
In a felony case, the most important work often happens before most people even think to call a lawyer. The early stage — while police are investigating, before charges are formally filed, and at the first bond and court appearances — shapes everything that follows. Statements you make, searches you consent to, and decisions made in those first days can hand the State its case or preserve your defense. Getting counsel involved early can sometimes prevent charges from being filed at all, or keep them from being charged as high as they otherwise would be.
Illinois sorts felonies into classes, from Class 4 at the lower end up to Class X and murder, and the class drives the potential prison time and how the case is handled. Two charges that sound similar can carry vastly different exposure. We make sure you understand exactly what you are charged with and what it really means, then attack the case on every front available — the legality of the stop and search, the strength of the evidence, the credibility of witnesses, and the conduct of the investigation. The goal is to create every advantage the law allows.
From our Villa Park office, we represent clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago.
Class X is the most serious (6-30 years, no probation). Class 1: 4-15 years. Class 2: 3-7 years. Class 3: 2-5 years. Class 4: 1-3 years. Probation may be available depending on charge and prior record. Some offenses (murder, certain sex offenses) have separate sentencing ranges.
Depends on the class and your record. Class 4 and most Class 3 felonies regularly receive probation, especially for first offenders. Class 2 and Class 1 are more difficult but possible. Class X is non-probationable by statute.
Possible in many cases through plea negotiation, particularly for theft, drug, and battery charges where the line between felony and misdemeanor is value-based or evidentiary. This is where defense leverage matters.
Felony convictions revoke voting rights while incarcerated and on parole. Voting is restored upon completion. Gun rights are revoked permanently under both Illinois and federal law for most felonies, and restoration is extremely difficult.
Felony convictions almost always trigger immigration consequences, deportation, denial of naturalization, inadmissibility. Even some misdemeanors do. We work with immigration counsel to assess and minimize immigration exposure.
Felony cases are nearly always hourly billed due to unpredictable scope (preliminary hearing, motions, discovery, possible trial). We quote estimated ranges at consultation and provide regular billing updates. Aggressive defense costs less than incarceration.
The line is severity. Misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in county jail, while felonies carry the possibility of a year or more in state prison and far heavier long-term consequences for your record and rights. Illinois grades felonies into classes — from Class 4 up to Class X — that set the sentencing range. Because the exposure is so much greater, a felony charge demands a more thorough and aggressive defense from the very start.
Not without a lawyer. You have the right to remain silent and the right to counsel, and in a felony investigation exercising both is almost always the wise choice. People routinely talk themselves into charges, or into a worse position, believing they can explain their way out. Politely decline to answer questions and ask for an attorney. We can speak to investigators on your behalf, protect your rights, and sometimes influence the case before charges are ever filed.
The first 48 hours matter. Call now for a free consultation. We’ll explain the process, your options, and the realistic path forward.