HB4217 allows Illinois public defenders in suspension hearings
Summary
Illinois House Bill 4217 amends the Officers and Employees Article of the Counties Code to expand the scope of public defender representation. The bill allows public defenders who are already representing a client in a criminal case to also represent that same client in summary suspension or revocation hearings under the Illinois Vehicle Code. This removes a prior restriction that separated criminal defense representation from administrative driving privilege hearings.
What changed
HB4217 modifies the Counties Code to permit public defenders to represent clients in both criminal proceedings and related summary suspension or revocation hearings under the Illinois Vehicle Code. Previously, public defenders faced restrictions on representing clients in these separate administrative proceedings when already handling the underlying criminal case. The bill passed the House with committee approval and House Floor Amendment No. 2 adopted.\n\nFor public defenders and county public defender offices, this bill expands their scope of representation and may increase caseloads. Criminal defendants benefit by maintaining continuous legal representation across related criminal and administrative proceedings involving driving privileges. County governments must ensure adequate staffing and resources to support the expanded duties of public defenders under this legislation.
What to do next
- Update public defender office procedures to allow expanded representation in vehicle code hearings
- Coordinate with county administration on implementation of expanded defender duties
- Review case management systems to track cases across criminal and administrative proceedings
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Illinois / HB4217 Passed HB4217 House Bill Passed 2025-12-04
COUNTIES CD-DEFENDER POWERS
Amends the Officers and Employees Article of the Counties Code. Allows public defenders who are representing a client in a criminal case to also represent the client in summary suspension or revocation hearings under a specified provision in the Illinois Vehicle Code.
Bill Details
State Illinois
Session 104th General Assembly
Chamber House
Official Source www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum...
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Sponsors
Rick Ryan (Rep - D) Kelly Cassidy (Rep - D) Will Guzzardi (Rep - D)
Action History
2026-04-07 H House Floor Amendment No. 2 Recommends Be Adopted Judiciary - Criminal Committee; 008-002-000 2026-03-18 H House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Criminal Committee 2026-02-27 H House Floor Amendment No. 2 Referred to Rules Committee 2026-02-27 H House Floor Amendment No. 2 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Rick Ryan 2026-02-25 H Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate 2026-02-24 H House Committee Amendment No. 1 Tabled 2026-02-24 H Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary - Criminal Committee; 009-005-000 2026-02-23 H Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi 2026-02-23 H Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy 2026-02-19 H House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee 2026-02-19 H House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Rick Ryan 2026-02-11 H Assigned to Judiciary - Criminal Committee 2026-01-14 H Referred to Rules Committee 2026-01-14 H First Reading 2025-12-04 H Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Rick Ryan
Committee Referrals
2026-01-14 H Rules 2026-02-11 H Judiciary - Criminal 2026-02-19 H Rules 2026-03-18 H Judiciary - Criminal
Amendments
2026-02-19 House Amendment 001 2026-02-27 House Amendment 002
Bill Text Versions
2025-12-04 Introduced Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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