DeVore Law Offices represents Illinois clients facing DUI, traffic, misdemeanor, and felony charges in state court. You'll get straight answers about what you are facing, what the State has to prove, and what we can do about it. Most cases the firm handles in-house. For unusually complex matters, we refer up to the top criminal defense lawyers in the state — and the referral does not cost you a dollar more.
A criminal conviction follows people. It shows up on background checks for jobs, housing, professional licenses, and security clearances — sometimes for the rest of their lives. It can mean loss of driving privileges, gun rights, immigration status, professional credentials, and in serious cases, freedom. Even cases that "only" end in supervision can have consequences the client never saw coming.
The way to limit those consequences is to take the case seriously from day one. The first 30 days matter — bond and pretrial conditions, charging decisions, evidence preservation, witness identification, and the early conversations between defense and prosecution that often shape where the case is headed. Cases handled well early are easier to resolve later. Cases handled badly early are not.
Most people who get charged with something do not know the system. That is normal. The job of defense counsel is to know the system, to explain it in plain language, and to use it.
— The way the firm has approached criminal defense in central and southern Illinois for more than fifteen years.
The firm represents adults in Illinois state-court criminal matters across the full range of the criminal code. Below is the day-to-day.
First-offense and repeat DUI, refusal cases, statutory summary suspension hearings, and the collateral license consequences that often hit harder than the criminal case itself. Field-sobriety, breath, and blood-test challenges where the facts support them.
Reckless driving, aggravated speeding, suspended and revoked license, leaving the scene, and the moving violations that quietly add up to a license problem. Petitions for hardship and full driving relief.
Possession, possession with intent, delivery, and conspiracy charges — misdemeanor and felony. Constitutional challenges to stops, searches, and warrants, and the diversion programs that sometimes provide a better outcome than trial.
Retail theft, theft, burglary, criminal damage, and the felony thresholds that turn a misdemeanor into a Class 4 or worse. Restitution and resolution strategies that keep the record clean where possible.
Battery, aggravated battery, and domestic battery — charges that often involve no-contact orders, mandatory minimums, and serious collateral consequences for housing and firearms.
Unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated UUW, FOID violations, and the patchwork of Illinois firearm law that catches otherwise law-abiding people up in serious felony exposure.
Forgery, deceptive practices, financial-institution fraud, and theft charges with a paper trail. The accounting background of this firm matters most in cases where the State's case is the records — and where the right defense is reading those records better than they did.
Class 4 through Class X felonies in Illinois state court. Preliminary hearings, motion practice, plea negotiation, and trial. Cases prepared from day one as if they will be tried.
Petition-to-revoke proceedings, technical violations, new-charge violations, and the resentencing exposure that comes with them. Mitigation work that gives the court reason to keep someone on the right track.
Initial bond hearings, conditions of release, modifications, and SAFE-T Act detention hearings. Where bond can be reduced, secured, or restructured, we move quickly.
Petitions to expunge or seal eligible Illinois arrest and conviction records — including the post-cannabis-reform expungements and the broader eligibility expansions of recent years. A clean record is worth doing.
Direct appeals from state-court convictions, sentencing appeals, and post-conviction petitions where the trial-court record supports them. The firm has appellate experience and is comfortable taking the right case up the chain.
Most criminal cases the firm handles in-house. But some cases — major federal matters, capital exposure, complex multi-defendant indictments, or charges that demand a specific area of expertise — call for the kind of lawyer who lives in that world every day. Tom has spent more than fifteen years building relationships with the top criminal defense attorneys in Illinois. When your case is one of those, we'll tell you, and we'll get you in front of the right lawyer. There is no extra cost to you for the referral.
Tom DeVore has spent more than fifteen years representing Illinois clients across central and southern Illinois — including in cases where the opposing counsel came from the Illinois Attorney General's Office and major firms. That experience is part of every criminal case the firm handles. Before law school, Tom worked in accounting and finance, a background that pays off in financial-crime cases where the State's case is the documents.
You will get a lawyer who explains your case in plain language, prepares it like it will be tried, and gives you an honest read on where it is headed. You will not get promises about outcomes — no honest criminal lawyer can give those — but you will get the work the case needs.
Cases prepared for trial from day one. The plea offer that arrives is the offer that comes when the State sees the file is ready.
You will understand what is happening, what the State has to prove, and what your options are at every step.
Tom DeVore handles your case personally. You are not handed off to an associate the day you sign.
Some cases call for a specialist. When yours is one of those, we will tell you — and refer you to one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the state.
An initial conversation, in person or by phone, to understand the charge, the facts as you know them, and where the case is in the system. You will leave knowing what you are facing, what the next steps are, and what to do — and not do — in the meantime.
If bond has been set unfairly, or the conditions of release are causing real harm, we move to modify. Where the SAFE-T Act detention rules are in play, we prepare the hearing properly. Getting this right early shapes everything that follows.
Police reports, body-cam, dash-cam, lab results, witness statements, 911 audio, surveillance video. We read everything, identify the weaknesses in the State's case, and build the defense file from the actual evidence — not what the report claims.
Motions to suppress evidence from illegal stops, searches, and statements; motions to dismiss where the charges do not hold up; and the discovery motions that force the State to put the case in the open early.
Most criminal cases resolve short of trial. The right plea — when it is the right plea — comes after the file is built and the State sees what trial would look like. When the plea offered is not acceptable, we try the case.
Mitigation work for sentencing, post-trial motions where the record supports them, and direct appeal where the trial court got something wrong. The case is not over until the appeal window has closed.
Criminal cases are typically handled on a flat-fee basis, scoped by stage — pretrial through resolution, trial, and (if needed) appeal. The fee is quoted in writing before any work begins. For more complex matters, hourly arrangements are sometimes used.
You will know what the representation costs before we start.
Traffic and DUI cases often resolve in a few months. Misdemeanor cases typically run three to nine months. Felonies usually run six to eighteen months, longer if the case goes to trial. Most cases have multiple court dates before they are over.
We will give you a realistic estimate after the initial call.
Phone calls returned within one business day. Every court date prepared together in advance — what is happening, what to wear, what to say, what not to say. Decisions explained, in writing, when they happen.
You will not be the last person to know what is going on in your case.
"I was charged with my first DUI and was terrified about losing my license and my job. Tom explained every step, fought the summary suspension, and got the criminal case resolved on terms that kept me working and kept the conviction off my record. He returned every call himself."
"I had a felony charge that the original public defender wanted me to plead out to right away. Tom looked at the file, ran a motion to suppress, and the case got dismissed. He treated me like a person, not a case number."
Do not give a statement to police, do not consent to any search, and do not try to talk your way out of the situation. Ask for a lawyer and stop talking — those rights only protect you if you use them. Then call us. Anything you say at the scene or at the station is being recorded and will be in the report.
Not without a lawyer. Police are allowed to mislead suspects during interrogation, and "just a few questions" almost always means they are building a case. There is no downside to politely declining and saying you would like to speak through counsel. There is significant downside to going in alone.
No. A DUI conviction in Illinois generally cannot be expunged or sealed, and the collateral consequences — license, insurance, employment — follow for years. There are real defenses to many DUI cases, including the legality of the stop, the field sobriety testing, the breath or blood test, and the statutory summary suspension procedure. Before pleading to anything, get the case reviewed.
In broad terms, misdemeanors (Class A, B, C) carry up to one year in county jail; felonies (Class 4 through Class X, plus first-degree murder) carry one year or more in the Department of Corrections. The difference matters not just for sentence exposure but for collateral consequences — felony convictions affect voting rights, firearm rights, employment, and licensing in ways misdemeanors usually do not.
"Minor" is a label that gets applied before anyone looks at the actual consequences. A simple traffic ticket can put a license at risk. A retail theft can show up on every background check for the rest of someone's life. A first-offense possession can affect federal student aid. Before pleading to anything, talk to a lawyer. Most initial calls are no charge.
Often, yes — but it depends on the charge, the disposition, and how much time has passed. Illinois has expanded expungement and sealing eligibility significantly in recent years, especially for cannabis offenses and certain other charges. We will look at your record and tell you what is eligible and what is not.
Some cases — major federal matters, capital exposure, complex multi-defendant indictments, or charges in a specialized practice area — call for a lawyer whose entire career is that kind of work. Tom has spent more than fifteen years building relationships with the top criminal defense attorneys in Illinois. If your case is one of those, we will tell you, and we will connect you with the right lawyer. The referral does not cost you anything extra.
Most criminal cases are quoted as a flat fee, scoped by stage — pretrial through resolution, trial, and (if needed) appeal — with the fee disclosed in writing before any work begins. The fee depends on the charge, the complexity, and the venue. Hourly arrangements are sometimes used for more complex matters.
Yes. The firm regularly handles criminal matters across central and southern Illinois — from the Metro East counties (Madison, St. Clair, Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Macoupin) up through the I-55 and I-72 corridors (Montgomery, Christian, Sangamon, Macon) and south through Effingham, Marion, Jefferson, Williamson, and the rest of southern Illinois. Initial calls can be by phone or video.
The 15-minute call is confidential and at no cost. It is not a legal advice session — the only question on the table is whether having this firm represent you is likely to be in your interest. If it is, we will talk about what happens next. If you are better served by another lawyer, or by handling the matter without one, we will tell you so.
If your matter is time-sensitive — an arrest in the last 72 hours, a bond hearing tomorrow, a court date this week — please call directly.
Tom DeVore has spent more than fifteen years representing Illinois clients across central and southern Illinois — including in cases where opposing counsel came from the Illinois Attorney General's Office and major firms. He answers the phone, reads your file himself, and tells you the truth about what you're facing. When a case calls for a specialist, he says so and refers you up.
More about how Tom works →If you have been arrested, charged, or are being investigated, the lawyer you choose in the first 30 days has more to do with the outcome than almost any other decision you will make. We answer the phone.