South Elgin taxi company says it's not avoiding emissions testing
State officials are looking into a South Elgin taxi company that registered some of its vehicles in Hampshire, which in turn allows it to be exempt from emissions testing.
The secretary of state's office is seeking information from A Taxicab Leasing Corp., which owns about 14 vehicles registered to a post office box in Hampshire, said Candace Wanzo, administrator of the special plates division.
The office also is seeking information from Bradly Brickhouse of Elgin, who owns eight taxis registered to another post office box in Hampshire, Wanzo said.
Both taxi owners were sent letters requesting their physical address and updated certificate of insurance, she said.
Jaime Hjelm, president of A Taxicab Leasing Corp., said she registered some of the company's 80 or so vehicles in Hampshire to get lower insurance rates, not to avoid emissions testing.
The company is at 340 Production Drive in South Elgin in a space shared with A#1 Cab Dispatch, owned by her sister Naomi Hjelm, she said.
“It's not illegal to register to a P.O. box. I would never do anything illegal,” Jaime Hjelm said.
Wanzo said some vehicle owners in rural areas use post office boxes.
The agency took action after being contacted by the Daily Herald, which received a tip that at least one taxi belonging to A Taxicab Leasing Corp. was registered to a post office box in Hampshire. While looking into the matter, officials came across Brickhouse's name, Wanzo said.
Brickhouse is an owner/operator for A Taxicab Leasing Corp., Jaime Hjelm said. Brickhouse did not return a request for comment Friday.
Generally, vehicles registered in northeastern Illinois and the metro East St. Louis areas are subject to testing, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. However, vehicles registered in some ZIP codes in those areas are exempt from testing, including Hampshire and 14 other ZIP codes in Kane County.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Kim Biggs said the exemptions are based on long-standing federal rules affecting non-urbanized areas.
If Brickhouse and A Taxicab Leasing Corp. are in Elgin and South Elgin, their vehicles will be required by the IEPA to undergo emissions testing, Wanzo said. Vehicles cannot be registered by the state unless they comply with that requirement, she said.
Jaime Hjelm said she believes all her vehicles would pass emissions testing if required. “I am conscious of the environment,” she said, pointing out she recently invested in a fleet of hybrid cars.
If the secretary of state doesn't receive updated information from the taxi owners within 30 days, her office would suspend the affected taxis' registrations and retrieve their license plates, Wanzo said.