Tollway directors push for high-tech violation process

The backlog may be quashed but tollway directors want the agency's violation collection system to be faster and smarter.

Officials raised questions about drivers considered toll scofflaws who are actually victims of mistaken identity, during an Illinois State Toll Highway Authority meeting Thursday.

The concerns surfaced as Acting Executive Director Michael King told directors the agency had eliminated a backlog of 1.6 million violation notices.

The backlog made 2008 a banner year with 3.6 million first and final notices going out.

The Daily Herald reported in a 2008 investigative series that the tollway failed to send out violation notices for 13 months between July 2006 and August 2007 because of miscommunication between the companies that run the enforcement system. The glitch caused fines to escalate dramatically and led to financial and legal woes for many drivers.

The series also detailed problems with cameras misreading as many as 25 percent of license plates.

King told board members the agency was down to 500,000 current violations and that motorists now receive notices within 30 to 60 days of their third blown toll. If a driver misses just two toll payments within two years, it's expunged.

Tollway directors took aim at the misread issue, asking staffers to explore how to share information about drivers' licenses from the Illinois Secretary of State's office more expeditiously.

Tollway board member James Banks added he was personally aware of a driver caught in a case of mistaken identity.

Board member David Andalcio cautioned that since the agency takes "drastic measures" such as petitioning the secretary of state to suspend licenses for nonpayment as a final measure, "I'd like to be sure the information is correct."

When high-tech cameras at toll plazas catch scofflaws, it triggers additional computerized reviews as well as manual reviews by workers, staff members explained.

"I want us to be on the forefront of technology. When I heard words like 'manual,' it's antiquated," Andalcio said.

Administrators with the agency's violation review department admitted there had been a lot of images reviewed and reviewed incorrectly.

With the backlog reduced, King said, the tollway is looking at improving efficiency with e-mail alerts and better technology. Part of the misread problem comes from specialty license plates - there are 263 different types of plates in Illinois, he added, with more on the way.

The effort to clear up the backlog has been very expensive, Chief of Business Systems Stan Ryniewski said, adding he would detail costs at a future meeting.