Jack L. Zaremba is an Illinois driver's license reinstatement lawyer and a former Will County prosecutor. An attorney since 2003, he has practiced criminal and traffic law on both sides of the aisle for more than twenty years, and for well over a decade his focus through this practice has been one thing: getting Illinois driving privileges restored. He has represented hundreds of drivers before the Illinois Secretary of State, at informal hearings, at formal hearings, and in the written process available to drivers who no longer live in Illinois.
Every case is his own. When you call the office, you speak with Jack. When your hearing packet is assembled, Jack assembles it. When the hearing officer asks the question that decides your case, Jack has already asked it of you, more than once, in preparation.
His office is on East Clinton Street in downtown Joliet, near the Secretary of State's formal hearing office. Drivers across Illinois and in other states work with him by phone and video, and the Secretary of State now holds formal hearings by video as well, so distance has stopped being a reason to put a hearing off.
Why a Former Prosecutor Matters at a Reinstatement Hearing
A reinstatement hearing is not a conversation. It is an evidentiary proceeding with a burden of proof on you, and at a formal hearing the Secretary of State is represented by its own attorney, whose job is to test your evidence and your testimony. The hearing officer then decides whether your alcohol or drug evaluation, your treatment records, your support letters and your own account fit together and prove you are no longer a risk on the road.
Jack spent years on the other side of proceedings like that. As an Assistant Attorney General and then as a Will County Assistant State's Attorney, his work was finding the gap between what a person said and what the documents showed. That is exactly what a hearing officer looks for. It is also the single most common reason petitions are denied: an evaluation that classifies you one way, treatment that doesn't match, and testimony that contradicts both.
So Jack's preparation runs backward from the hearing. He reads your file the way the hearing officer will, finds the gaps first, and fixes what can be fixed before anything is filed.
How Jack Handles a Reinstatement Case
The work starts with your driving record. Jack pulls and reviews your Illinois driving abstract and your Secretary of State file so the case is built on what the State actually has, not on what you remember.
From there, each case follows the path the law sets for it:
- The right hearing. Illinois law decides who may use an informal hearing and who must request a formal one. Jack identifies which applies to you and prepares accordingly, rather than letting a walk-in appointment settle a question that deserved a formal record. He explains the difference in his guide to formal versus informal hearings.
- The evaluation and treatment documents. Your alcohol and drug evaluation, risk classification, treatment completion and continuing-care records are the core of the file. Jack reviews each document before it is submitted, because a hearing officer will. See the required documents and treatment documents pages for what the State expects.
- Your testimony. Hearing officers ask a predictable set of questions, and the answers have to match the documents. Jack prepares clients with the actual questions, which he has written about in detail: what hearing officers ask.
- Permits and devices. Many drivers qualify for a restricted driving permit before full reinstatement, often with a breath alcohol ignition interlock device. Jack handles the permit request, the BAIID requirements and the later step up to full reinstatement.
- After a denial. A denial is not the end of the road. Jack reviews the hearing officer's written order, identifies what the State found lacking, and builds the next petition around it.
The full process, step by step, is on the Illinois license reinstatement process page.
Drivers Who Live Outside Illinois
A large share of Jack's clients have not lived in Illinois for years. An old Illinois revocation follows a driver through the national driver database, and their new state will not issue a license until Illinois clears the hold. Jack handles these cases from start to finish without the client traveling: the record review, the documents, the hearing by video, and the paperwork that clears the hold once reinstatement is granted. He has represented drivers from across the country, and the out-of-state hearing page explains how that process works.
Background and Education
Jack's legal career began in the Illinois Attorney General's office, where he clerked while attending Loyola University Chicago School of Law. After earning his Juris Doctor in 2003, he joined the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Bureau as an Assistant Attorney General, prosecuting financial and white-collar cases built almost entirely on records, where the documents, not the witnesses, decide the outcome.
In 2006 he was appointed an Assistant State's Attorney in Will County. Over the following years he handled thousands of criminal cases ranging from misdemeanor DUI and traffic offenses to first-degree murder and served as first chair in more than fifty bench trials and more than thirty jury trials.
He opened his own practice in 2009. The reinstatement work grew from a simple observation: a DUI case does not end at sentencing. For most people the hardest part comes later, when they try to get their license back and discover that the Secretary of State process is its own proceeding with its own rules.
Credentials
Bar admissions
- State of Illinois
- United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Education
- Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2003
- University of Alabama, Bachelor of Arts, 1998
- Phi Delta Phi, international legal honor society
Past government positions
- Assistant Attorney General, State of Illinois (Medicaid Fraud Bureau)
- Assistant State's Attorney, Will County, Illinois
Professional memberships
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Will County Bar Association
Also a Criminal Defense Attorney
Jack continues to defend DUI and criminal cases in Will and Grundy counties through the Law Offices of Jack L. Zaremba, P.C. That side of his practice is what makes the reinstatement work sharper: he knows what a DUI conviction, a summary suspension or a refusal does to a driving record because he deals with those consequences in court every week. Details of the criminal defense practice are at zarembalawoffice.com.
Outside the Office
Jack lives in Will County with his wife, Ann, who practices commercial real estate law, and their four children.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jack personally handle my hearing?
Yes. Jack prepares the petition, reviews every document, prepares you for testimony and appears with you at the hearing.
Do I have to come to Joliet?
No. Most of the preparation is done by phone and video, and the Secretary of State offers formal hearings by video. Drivers in other states can complete the entire process without traveling to Illinois.
Can Jack help if I was already denied?
Yes. He starts with the written denial order, which spells out what the hearing officer found lacking, and builds the next petition to answer it.
Does Jack handle the DUI charge itself?
Yes, through his criminal defense practice. Handling both the case and the later reinstatement means the choices made in court are made with the license in mind.
How soon should I call?
As early as possible. Eligibility dates, evaluation timing and treatment requirements all run on the State's schedule, and the preparation takes longer than most people expect.
Talk to Jack About Your Hearing
If your Illinois license is revoked or suspended, or an Illinois hold is keeping you from a license in another state, the consultation is free and Jack takes the call himself. Call 815-740-4025 or use the contact form. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturday 9:00 AM to noon; phones are answered around the clock, and evening, weekend and video appointments are available.