Speeding in Illlinois

I was recently ticketed for 43 in a 30. My record is spotless, I am a young person starting a family, and I don't have a lot of money lying around for attorneys or added insurance. I would like to represent myself, but don't know courtroom procedures or how to go about requesting probation. I also heard about traffic school, but don't know if it's available in my area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I think sometimes it pays to pay the man the money and move on.

In general if you plead not guilty the cop has to come in an testify as to what he saw. You can cross examine him.

Your best hope is that he fails to show -- and I don't know what the odds of that are in Illinois.

You do not seem to have a defense, so I would NOT get a lawyer. Read the section on Traffic on FreeAdvice.com and check out trafficticket.com also. Ask the court clerk aand DMV about how to get points removed from your license.

Thank you for the response, Wilson. I believe you hit the nail on the head. This probably seemed like a bigger deal to me, because I never get ticketed. Thanks for taking the time to give some free, honest advice. It means a lot to us ill-informed folks who aren't familiar with the judicial system.