Melinda Organ Brennan, J.D.

12/21/2025

Have a Happy and Safe 2026. Drive Sober.

12/24/2024

Make 2025 Safer for All of Us by Driving Sober, Not Impaired by Any Substance, Staying Within the Speed Limit, and Using the Phone Hands Free. The Rules of the Road are available on the Illinois Secretary of State website

Ethics and transparency are essential to good government. On Day One, Secretary Giannoulias issued a comprehensive Executive Ethics Order that sets the bar to adhere to the highest ethical standards in state government.

02/08/2019

Greetings and Please Stay Safe in 2025

06/29/2018

Hello there. This is Jacque Elder, a friend of Melinda's. A good friend of mine just got her Restricted Driving Permit because she retained Melinda as her attorney. She had been denied twice prior to that and I said to her "Go see Melinda. She has been doing this for many years, she is honest and ethical and her fees are reasonable."

I have since referred a couple more people to Melinda because I believe in her and I want my AA friends to get some driving relief.

05/25/2018

In 2016, the Illinois Secretary of State changed its Rules and Regulations so that most people with revoked Drivers' Licenses are eligible for a Secretary of State Hearing to obtain a Restricted Driving Permit or a Driver's License. Under the previous Rules and Regulations, drivers may have been ineligible for any driving relief or were required to wait a significant period of time before petitioning for driving relief.

However, the Secretary of State also changed its Rules and Regulations to now require a 5-year breathalyzer Restricted Driving Permit if you have 2 DUI convictions. You may be required to drive with a breathalyzer (BAIID) device for 5 years before you are eligible for full reinstatement of your driver's license.

If you have any questions about obtaining driving privileges, please call The Law Office of Melinda Organ Brennan at 708-445-9644 or send an email to [email protected].

05/25/2018

Preventing Drunk Driving: The CDC has ideas!

The strategies in this section are effective for reducing or preventing drunk driving. They are recommended by The Guide to Community Preventive Services and/or have been demonstrated to be effective in reviews by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.* Different strategies may require different resources for implementation or have different levels of impact. Find strategies that are right for your state.

Drunk driving laws:
Drunk driving laws make it illegal nationwide to drive with a BAC at or above 0.08%. For people under 21, “zero tolerance” laws make it illegal to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in their system. These laws, along with laws that maintain the minimum legal drinking age at 21, are in place in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and have had a clear effect on highway safety, saving tens of thousands of lives since their implementation.

Sobriety checkpoints:
Sobriety checkpoints allow police to briefly stop vehicles at specific, highly visible locations to see if the driver is impaired. Police may stop all or a certain portion of drivers. Breath tests may be given if police have a reason to suspect the driver is intoxicated.

Ignition interlocks (BAIID Devices):
Ignition interlocks installed in cars measure alcohol on the driver’s breath. Interlocks keep the car from starting if the driver has a BAC above a certain level, usually 0.02%. They’re used for people convicted of drunk driving and are highly effective at preventing repeat offenses while installed. Mandating interlocks for all offenders, including first-time offenders, will have the greatest impact.

Multi-component interventions:
Multi-component interventions combine several programs or policies to prevent drunk driving. The key to these comprehensive efforts is community mobilization by involving coalitions or task forces in design and implementation.

Mass media campaigns:
Mass media campaigns spread messages about the physical dangers and legal consequences of drunk driving. They persuade people not to drink and drive and encourage them to keep other drivers from doing so. Campaigns are most effective when supporting other impaired driving prevention strategies.

Administrative license revocation or suspension laws:
Administrative license revocation or suspension laws allow police to take away the license of a driver who tests at or above the legal BAC limit or who refuses testing. States decide how long to suspend the license; a minimum of 90 days is effective.

Alcohol screening and brief interventions:
Alcohol screening and brief interventions take advantage of “teachable moments” to identify people at risk for alcohol problems and get them treatment as needed. This combined strategy, which can be delivered in health care, university, and other settings, helps change behavior and reduces alcohol-impaired crashes and injuries.

School-based instructional programs:
School-based instructional programs are effective at teaching teens not to ride with drunk drivers. More evidence is needed to see if these programs can also reduce drunk driving and related crashes.

05/25/2018

Check out this PDF of Facts about Drinking and Driving in Illinois

05/25/2018

Drinking and Driving - A Threat to Everyone. Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 51 minutes. Driving drunk is never OK. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.

Take a few minutes to make sure you and others avoid impaired driving.

Designate a nondrinking driver before any party or celebration begins. Remind others to do the same.
Don’t drink and drive. Get a ride home or call a taxi.
Take the keys. Don’t let someone else drink and drive.
If you’re hosting a party where alcohol will be served, remind your guests to plan ahead and designate their sober driver; offer alcohol-free beverages; and make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.
Buckle up every time. It’s your best defense against a drunk driver.

03/15/2018

If your license is suspended or revoked due to a DUI, you may be required to attend support group meetings. If you have issues with AA's focus on a Higher Power, there is an alternative! Alcoholics Anonymous for Atheists and Agnostics is an AA group where there is no mention of God, spirituality or Higher Power.

There are several in Chicago and two AAAA (Quad A) meetings local to Oak Park.
Thursdays, 7-8 pm, West Suburban Hospital, 3 Erie Court, Oak Park, IL. Room C & D
Sundays, 7-8 pm, Gale House, 124 N. Kenilworth, Oak Park, IL 60302.

Check out these awesome meetings and see if they might be more to your liking than traditional AA.

01/31/2018

Getting arrested for Driving While Hungover? It can happen!

DRINK driving is a huge taboo in the UK and causes accidents and fatalities across the UK and worldwide but the dangers of driving while hungover are still fairly unknown to the public.

12/19/2017

Most folks don't realize how their drinking became so problematic. Alcohol is commonplace, drinking is commonplace and intoxication is tolerated (perhaps celebrated!) in our society. We see fewer incidences of alcohol abuse and dependence in cultures that don't tolerate intoxication such as in Jewish culture and Muslim cultures. On the other hand, if you are Irish, you know that it doesn't take a reason to drink anywhere or anytime. Every town in Ireland has its "village drunk".

Most people don't even realize that they are too impaired to drive. They may feel OK or even be one of those people that says "I drive better when I am drunk." I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that. They don't drive that well - they wouldn't have gotten the DUI if they drank that well.

It is one thing when a person gets their first DUI and tells the evaluator (who can evaluate you based only on what you tell them and your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content). If your BAC is under a .14, it is possible that the arrest for drunk driving was a one-time occurrence. But when folks come in with a second DUI, they have not learned from the consequences of the first arrest and the second arrest may indicate alcohol abuse. A third DUI indicates possible dependence (or non-dependence) upon alcohol.

One of the signs that separate a non-problematic drinker from a problem drinker is this: when a normal drinker gets a DUI, they don't get a second one. They will moderate their drinking and do that well. They do not have to drink before they go out to "lubricate their buzz". They don't have blackouts and if they do have one, it scares them so much that it does not happen again. They don't have partners threatening divorce because of their drinking. When they go out to socialize, they are more focused on their friends than when their next drinking is coming.

Dr. Andrew Weil, MD says: addiction can be described by the ease with which a person can separate from the substance. If you can walk away easily from a drink, it is likely you do not have a problem with it. If you continue to drink in spite of adverse consequences, there may be a problem.

12/19/2017

As much as people with drinking problems (DUIs, etc) would like to be social or "normal" drinkers, that is not always possible. This article explains why not.

Moderate drinking may not be possible for alcoholics.