Carpentersville reviews fines, won't tow for loud music
After reviewing existing traffic and parking violations with a fine-toothed comb, Carpentersville officials plan to raise the fines associated with breaking nearly three dozen laws.
Under a proposal up for a trustee vote next week, fines listed for 33 offenses would go up. If approved, parking violations for the most part would range from $35 to $500. Carpentersville is trying to bring its fee structure in line with neighboring communities and pay for the increased costs of enforcement, Police Chief David Neumann said. Authorities hadn't reviewed some fines in as many as 10 years, he added.
“We've been trying to take a look at the whole parking enforcement program, whether it's the issuance of tickets, the tracking of tickets, the payment of fines and along with that comes the pending administrative adjudication process,” Neumann said. “This is just one aspect of a larger program.”
One of the fines that may increase deals with breaking the sound ordinance, namely blasting your car stereo so loud that other drivers can feel it. The village now charges between $150 and $1,000 for the offense, but the proposal would raise the minimum fee to $250, Neumann said.
Resident complaints are the catalyst behind the increase, he said.
Unlike Elgin, though, Carpentersville has no plans to tow vehicles for the offense, Village Manager J. Mark Rooney said, noting that the staff attorney questions the legality of the practice. Rooney also said the punishment is too punitive.
“I believe in proportionality,” Rooney said. “If somebody is a repeat offender, we've got provisions to deal with that, with the fine going up.”
Moreover, pointing to a recent Daily Herald On Guard report that examined Elgin's towing policies and the high fees behind them, authorities balk at bringing the practice to Carpentersville.
“You have to look at what an appropriate punishment might be for a noise violation and I think there are some questions about whether the towing of a vehicle is part of the punishment or part of the community care-taking function,” Neumann said. “When you tow a vehicle, you do it for some safety reasons, for example a DUI ... I'm not sure that towing a vehicle for a noise violation fits within those parameters.”
The $250 fine for parking in a handicapped space and the $500 fine for misusing a handicapped placard are among the four that are staying the same. Fines for four other violations would drop.
The committee has also eliminated the $75 fine associated with spitting on the sidewalk, a law authorities have deemed obsolete.
“It's because of tuberculosis,” Rooney said, explaining the ordinance's origin. “A hundred years go by and you forget why you had a law.”
The village has spent roughly six months on the fines project and its audit, and finance commission approved the changes last week. The full village board is expected to take a vote Tuesday.