More than 200 new laws will go into effect in Illinois at midnight Jan. 1. Here is a sampling:
*All backseat passengers are required to wear a seatbelt.
*Individuals convicted of domestic battery are not eligible to obtain or keep a FOID card. Individuals with restraining orders against them must surrender their FOID card until the order expires.
*Andrea’s Law requires all former first-degree murder convicts to be on a registry for 10 years following their release from prison.
*New penalties for selling synthetic marijuana.
*Individuals found guilty of manufacturing or delivering drugs that precipitated an emergency response will be liable for the emergency costs and additional fines.
*The natural mother, father or spouse of an Illinois veteran who was killed in the line of duty is entitled to admission to Illinois veterans homes if space permits.
*Mandatory maximum fines for a person who has multiple convictions of driving an uninsured vehicle.
*A non-CDL holder school bus driver will be subject to reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing.
Copyright 2011 Chicago Defender
