If you had insurance at the time you were cited for the offense then in court, before you were convicted, you should have brought in proof of auto insurance to get the violation dismissed. If you already were convicted in court of this offense but now have documentation showing you were insured during the time period you were convicted of being uninsured then you should contact the court to see if there is any way to now submit this and get the violation dismissed and penalties rescinded.

This information on the Illinois laws regarding driving without insurance may be helpful to you at this time. According to the Illinois Secretary of State the penalties for driving without insurance in IL are as follows:

The vehicle registration of first-time offenders is suspended until a $100 reinstatement fee and proof of insurance are submitted. Repeat offenders must serve a four-month suspension, pay a $100 reinstatement fee and provide proof of insurance. Your vehicle may not be driven while the license plates are suspended.

Any person who receives court supervision for a mandatory insurance violation or who is convicted of a third or subsequent violation of driving without liability insurance is required to file proof of financial responsibility (SR22 certificate) for one year, or face a driver’s license suspension.

As you are now aware since July 2007 the state of Illinois has toughen the penalties for driving without insurance to include license suspension as well. Now if an individual is convicted of driving without insurance they will face an automatic three month suspension of their driver’s license and must pay a reinstatement fee of $100 before they can get their license back due to the passing of SB 624.

SB 624 is an amendment to the already existing Illinois laws which penalizes motorists without insurance with a fine of $500 to $1000. The IL SOS notes that anyone convicted of driving without insurance while their license is suspended will receive an additional six month suspension.

This Senate Bill became a Public Act (PA 94-1035) which amended sections of the Illinois Vehicle Code including 3-707 and 6-118 (625 ILCS 5/3-707 and 625 ILCS 5/6-118). Section 3-707 subsection (c)(1) specifically states that a person will have their driver's license, permit or privileges suspended for 3 months. After the expiration of the 3 months, the person's privileges shall not be reinstated until he or she has paid a reinstatement fee of $100. There is no mention in the law that this suspension period can be lessened by now obtaining the required auto insurance.

The IL SOS goes on to note that individuals receiving three or more convictions for violation of the Mandatory Insurance Law are required to file the SR-22 insurance for a period of (1) one year for offenses that occur prior to January 1, 2008, or (3) years for offenses that occur on January 1, 2008 and after.

The SR-22 requirement is triggered by a third conviction of driving without insurance in Illinois. If an individual is convicted of a Mandatory Insurance Offense under authority section 625 ILCS 5/3-707, the Secretary of State computer system will search for previous violations for the same offense. Upon the third or subsequent conviction for Mandatory Insurance, a suspension notice will be generated. The driver's license suspension will be effective in 90 days from the notice date if the SR-22 Insurance is not purchased and processed by our office.

The part of IL law that might help you is subsection (c) of ILCS 5/3-707 which states that no person charged with violating this Section [operation of uninsured vehicle] shall be convicted if such person produces in court satisfactory evidence that at the time of the arrest the motor vehicle was covered by a liability insurance policy in accordance with Section 7‑601 of this Code. The chief judge of each circuit may designate an officer of the court to review the documentation demonstrating that at the time of arrest the motor vehicle was covered by a liability insurance policy in accordance with state laws.

Since you have already been convicted of driving without a license you may need to contact both the court and the IL SOS to find out about getting your license reinstated if you can show that you did not have a lapse in insurance coverage.