Should Illinois follow Tennessee and Pass “Bentley’s Law”?
Bentley's Law passed in Tennessee, should Illinois consider bringing this new DUI law to the Land of Lincoln? Here is what you need to know about Bentley's Law and why it is a groundbreaking new law to protect the victims of DUIs...
The state of Tennessee passed a first-of-its-kind law called 'Bentley's Law' to start the new year. This law states that if you kill someone who has children when you are driving intoxicated then you have to pay that family child support. On wkrn.com, they say...
"The law, known as “Bentley’s Law”, will require DUI offenders to pay child support if they kill a parent or guardian...The law gives DUI offenders who are in jail up to one year after their release to begin making payments, including backpay. If the child turns 18 years old but has not received all the money owed to them, the offender must continue sending money until all debts are paid off."
To read more about it click here!
So the question is, should Illinois consider passing this law in the Land of Lincoln, my answer to that would be simply yes. I would go as far as to say that I believe this should become a National Law. Any law that will further deter people from driving while intoxicated is a good law, and this law certainly does that. But also, this law gives more to the victims of these horrible crimes than just seeing someone go to jail. Put yourself in this situation, your spouse has just been killed by a drunk driver, and you have kids and are now down to one income as inflation is skyrocketing across the country, don't you think getting financial compensation from the person who took your spouse away from you would help ease the burden of their loss? Let me know in the comments if you would like to see this law passed in Illinois.