Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois

Hi. I am an Illinois licensed attorney that handles criminal charges throughout most parts of the state.

Theft is a charge that you really want to avoid on your permanent record, as it may likely have negative consequences in the future, and significantly affect your ability to find employment. In this day and age, many employers will do criminal background checks before hiring.

In order to potentially have the charge amended to a lesser violation and plead guilty to a lesser charge, such as littering, for example, you will very likely need to have an attorney handle the defense for you. We are typically able to get these charges reduced to something that will not significanly affect your future employment opportunities and cause a serious concern to anyone looking at your background information. Criminal attorneys are usually able to negotiate with the prosecutors for what is called a "plea bargain". This can also seriously reduce the possibility of having to serve any jail time, and, often, probation can be offered instead.

I hope this helps to some extent. I can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]. Thanks.

NOTE: This answer is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The use of this site does not create an attorney-client privilege or relationship between the user and the attorney responding.