help, no one will listen!

This question pertains to a D.U.I., please bear with me, you will sell the relevancy, I promise. Five years ago I was arrested for Battery, Disorderly Conduct, and D.U.I., all while sitting at my dining room table. Unbelievable? No kidding!!! What happened was I was in the process of moving out of a home I shared with a man I had just ended a relationship with. One night after work I had a few too many drinks to safely drive so I slept on the couch of a (platonic) male friend of mine. The next morning I had to work at 10am, so around 8am I headed home to get ready. When I got there my ex asked where I had spent the night, and I told him. He proceded to call me a few names (pertaining to my morals, if you catch my drift.) I lost control of my temper and slapped him acrossed the face. Wrong of me, I'm not proud of it, just trying to tell the story honestly.) His reaction was to call the police and tell them that I was physically abusing him, that I had hit him in the face with the cordless phone (I'd like to know how I managed that, it was the phone he used to call, I wish it would have been in my hands!) When the officers arrived he repeated this story, and added that I was drunk, had been out all night drinking, and driving around ( I had actually slept 5 or 6 hours.) So I was then arrested on the charges I listed above. I refused to blow because I thought it absurd, and I told the officer that I had driven that morning, after sleeping all night, but it didn't matter. I'm sure that it didn't help matters any that one of the officers happened to know my mother because of her habit of speeding, and her friendship with a cousin of is that he disliked ( welcome to po-dunk, USA.)
My charges were dropped before I ever even went to court, However my driving suspension was not. I was told this was because the Judicial System and the Secretary of State handled these issues separately. I was happy enough that the charges were dropped, and I soon got my license back, so I didn't fight the Statuatory Suspension on my record. Now here is my problem.
This past Dec. I got a DUI that I actually deserved. I have no problem with accepting the punishment that I deserve, but because of the St. Susp (complete with numerical code that says "alcohol related") on my record, they are tryng to treat this as my 2nd DUI. I went and had the necessary alc. evaluation done and the counselor labled me a two levels higher than she thought I should be because it was the minimum she could give because of the S.S. on my record. She suggested I hire a lawyer, but I can't afford to. So on my next court date, I withdrew my plea of guilty and asked for the public defender. I haven't even been given a chance to tell him my story, only his secretary. She just instructed me to come to court 1/2 hr. early to talk to him. I fear they aren't taking this seriously enough. The difference is about $1500 in reinstatement fees, counseling costs and fines not to mention 9 more months without a license! Help!

Well....

So much for being BRIEF and including your location.

I'll be the first to admit, being longwinded is sometimes a downfall of mine. Apparently rudeness is sometimes one of yours.

Oh yes, how ignorant of me, I'm in Illinois.

If you enjoy being rude, why not choose a poster who is being inconciderate to another poster for no reason, possibly a better sit. to vent your hostility.

Sorry for not being brief and wasting your time again ( Here is an idea, if you become disinterested in a post, STOP READING IT.)


Thanks so much for your helpful advice.