Illinois is Raking in the big Bucks in License Plate Renewal Fines

To this day it makes me so angry that Illinois continues to rake in the extra dough because the state stopped mailing out renewal notices. Now, we know how much 'extra' money the state has collected.In the past you could count on the state to send out a notice in the mail to your home. Upon receiving it, you had about six weeks to mail in or renew your plate sticker online and you were good to go. Not anymore.

Blame it on the budget crisis, or lack "there of" a budget in Illinois. The secretary of state's office announced late last year that due to the budget crisis, it would no longer mail out reminder notices to Illinois drivers. Without that reminder, Illinois motorists must now remember on their own to renew their license plates or face fines.

The fine for a late renewal is $20.00. So how much money has the state made in fines?

WIFR-TV via the AP is reporting that Illinois motorists paid close to $2 million in the month of March for not renewing vehicle plates before they expired.

THE NUMBERS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• TOTAL 2016 FINES (Jan - March) $4.9 million
• TOTAL 2015 FINES (Jan - March) $2.2 million

Back in February I reported on a proposal that was introduced to suspend fines for late Illinois plate renewals. As of now, the bill has not been passed into law despite the fact that the secretary of state's office supports the measure.

Lawmakers, let get moving on this!