Total owed is more than $300 million
Illinois Tollway toll violators, who collectively owe more than $300 million in tolls and initial fines, will be pursued in court, beginning tomorrow.
Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said the agency has sent these violators at least five notices, called them at least four times and offered them multiple opportunities to enter a settlement agreement with the option to use a payment plan to settle the debt.
“We are sending a clear and strong message to these chronic violators who use the Tollway regularly without paying: ‘Your time is up,’” she said. “Anything less would be unfair to the 98 percent of Tollway customers who pay their tolls on time.”
Overall, the entire process takes between nine months and more than two years from the time a violator receives a first violation notice until an administrative judgment is filed in court.
The agency also will increase coordination with the Illinois State Police District 15, which patrols all 286 miles of the Tollway system, to identify vehicles with suspended license plates. Violators of this offense could face fines of up to $2,000.
By the numbers:
$300 million – Total amount owed to the Tollway in unpaid tolls and initial fines 550,000 – Estimated number of unique license plates with violations associated with them as of July 2012 1.2 million – Total number of violation notices outstanding