LOCATION: Illinois, USA Illegal stop?
Edit to add: car registration detail
Hello r/legal, I'm in need of some advice.
Last week I was driving from Michigan to Illinois to visit my wife. When I was 13 minutes from her home I was pulled over. The officer told me he pulled me over for no front plate. I explained to him that I'm from Michigan, my car is registered in Michigan and we don't require a front plate. He told me "well we do here" I said "sir, I'm confused, I need a front plate to drive in Illinois even when my car has nothing to do with Illinois? How would I even get a front plate? Would we just stop at the border and get it? That doesn't make sense" this was apparently my mistake, obviously. He demanded to know why I was shaky and I told him well I'm a woman being pulled over by 3 men with guns, I'm scared. He yelled in my face (and I'm not exaggerating here. The man yelled) that he was a police officer! As if that somehow made anything better. The car is registered to my grandmother, whom I am a care taker for.
He took my license and ran it. He came back and had me get out of the car. Refused to let me get my shoes on. Cuffed me and told me my license was suspended for having 2 licenses? I informed him I was disabled. I asked for a female officer to pat me down and he told me no. The road was incredibly hot as we were in the middle of a heatwave and my feet were burning and he walked me through glass. He placed me in the back of the car where I sat for over an hour with no ac.
He used his k9 on the car and came back to tell me his dog had alerted. I told him "I am disabled and my medication is in the car. It's all in the appropriate bottles but that would be why you would get an alert" he did not remove my medication and rewalk the car. He just decided to toss my car. Several times he came back to shove a particular medication in my face and demand to know what it was, why I needed it etc (one of them was pepcid and he acted as if this was suspicious.) He looked under my hood, pulled a damaged front quarter panel off, and repeatedly held up my belongings to laugh and make comments with the other officer assisting in destroying my things.
The longer he searched without finding something illegal, the angrier and more hostile be got. Any time someone came back to demand my private medical information I asked if I could please have my cuffs extended or moved to the front because I'm disabled and in pain, as well as sweating buckets being in the car with no ac. I asked if my wife could come move my vehicle and was told no. I asked if my wife could come get a few belongings out and was told no. Even though I'm 300 miles from home and everything I need is in the car. No. No. No.
I was taken to jail and booked. I asked for a mask or hand sanitizer and was told no. I was released and given a ticket for failure to provide insurance, even though he never took the insurance from me. And driving on a suspended license. I was given a warning for driving 69 in a 65, which I believe to be a lie because my cruise control was set at 65. The officer changed his story to him pulling me over for the 4 mph over as opposed to the no front plate since someone told him he was wrong. My car was towed and I was given a court date one month from the day of the arrest and told not to leave town before then.
The next day I called the tow yard to see if I could come get a change of clothes and was told no. I couldn't have anything at all until I paid the $600 total to have my car back.
I called my secretary of state and found out that there was an issue when I paid to renew my license. They charged a $3.50 fee and my bank somehow flagged that as suspicious and didn't let the charge go through. I never received communication about this so I had no clue. But mail is often stolen in my area so this could be why. I was able to pay the $36. Fee and have my license back in good standing.
I am still experiencing physical pain from being held in that position for so long, my body has gone into a flare up and I'm experiencing a lot of anxiety and emotional distress after this incident. Many of my belongings were destroyed during the search of my car.
My questions are, was this a legal stop? Should my ticket for driving on a suspended license be valid since stopping me for no front plate was not a valid reason for a stop? Is a public defender an ok choice or should I be looking for another kind of lawyer who does police misconduct type things on a no fee unless you win type basis? (Disabled/no income)
Thank you for your time and help. It's much appreciated.