The Illinois bill concerning medical marijuana, now awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn's signature, places serious limits on its use. The bill in no way protects pot-smoking patients from DUI penalties.

For a driver who is found to be under the influence of medically legal marijuana, here are the possible ramifications:

When a driver has decided to refuse blood or Breathalyzer tests, a field sobriety test may be the main or only evidence of her intoxication.

Although there are often penalties to refusing chemical tests for alcohol, it can be a lot easier to beat a DUI case with only a field sobriety test as evidence.

Here are five things to remember when contesting a field sobriety test (FST) in court:

As you probably know, it is illegal to drink alcohol until you reach 21 years of age. Yet many underage individuals still drink and drive. As a result, the State of Illinois provides very severe penalties for someone charged with an underage DUI.

Generally, in Illinois, someone under the age of 21 can be arrested for drunk driving if they have any amount of alcohol in their system, provides the Illinois Secretary of State. So if your blood alcohol level is above 0.00 percent, you can be charged with a DUI.

Illinois law is very harsh and unlike many states that only make it a crime if you have a blood alcohol level above some minimal amount like 0.02, it is a crime in Illinois for an underage individual to even have a sip of alcohol and drive.

The costs of a DUI conviction can be exorbitant.

While there may be monetary fines and mandatory minimum jail sentences, the real costs of a drunken driving conviction may be the other costs associated with the charge.

For example, you may face a $500 fine for a first-time DUI conviction. However, the overall costs of defending your DUI charge will likely cost you almost $17,000. You can buy a new car with that. Here's a look at the breakdown of the costs, as provided by the Illinois Secretary of State:

Getting arrested for drunken driving may just be the start of your problems. Along with facing a DUI charge, you could also face a host of DUI-related charges and offenses.

The penalties for these offenses may be as severe as those for drinking and driving. And when combined with the DUI charge itself, you could face significant jail time, fines, and license suspensions.

Here is a look at five DUI-related offenses, as provided by the Illinois Secretary of State:

When you think about the penalties for a DUI in Illinois, you typically think about possible jail time and monetary fines.

While jail time and fines are good reasons for concern, you should be aware that there may be many additional penalties as well. In fact, some of these penalties may have a greater impact on your life than spending a few days in jail.

Here's a look at seven consequences of a DUI conviction besides jail, as provided by the Illinois Secretary of State.

You can be charged with an aggravated DUI in Illinois under a variety of circumstances.

Typically, any DUI charge that results in felony charges is considered an aggravated DUI. This means that you face increased penalties including mandatory minimum prison sentences and community service, which usually are not subject to suspension or reduction, according to the Illinois Secretary of State.

Generally, aggravated DUI in Illinois includes the following offenses:

A statutory summary suspension in Illinois provides for the automatic suspension of someone's driver's license should the individual fail a blood alcohol test or refuse to submit to a test.

Statutory summary suspensions are automatic and typically effective on the 46th day from the date of the suspension notice, as explained by the Illinois Secretary of State.

You should remember that a license suspension is separate from the criminal penalties you face for a DUI. So even if you have your criminal charges dropped, you still could face a driver's license suspension.

We now all associate a 0.08% blood alcohol content as the general legal limit for drunken driving. But how much do you really know about the limit?

Here are eight facts about the 0.08% blood alcohol limit, as provided by the Illinois Secretary of State:

Do you know the legal limit for drunken driving in Illinois? No, this is not a trick question.

You may safely guess that 0.08% is the blood alcohol limit for a DUI. And you would be correct, because for anyone over this limit, you are presumed to be driving drunk.

But did you also know that the legal limit for driving drunk can also be 0.04% as well as zero? So what gives?