O'NEIL v. Ryan

The Illinois Secretary of State (Secretary) denied plaintiffs petition for reinstatement of driving privileges or, alternatively, for a restricted driving permit. On administrative review, the circuit court reversed the Secretary’s decision and ordered the Secretary to reinstate plaintiffs full driving privileges. The Secretary appeals. For the following reasons, we reverse. The relevant facts are as follows.

On March 8, 1991, plaintiff was stopped by a police officer for improper lane usage and failure to signal a lane change. The officer reported that he detected a strong odor of alcohol on…