How Illinois higher speeding fines compare to our neighbors

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard that the speeding fines just went up in Illinois.

The standard fine for speeding up to 20 mph over the limit went up $45; 20-29 mph went up $45; 30-plus mph went up $55.

Supporters say the increase is about saving lives; critics say the higher fines are designed to plug budget holes.

Whatever the motive, we were curious to see how Illinois fines compared to some neighboring states. It's not as easy as you think. While our fines are divided by three levels of speed, some states, like Iowa, have more. Other states, such as Wisconsin, also penalize drivers by removing points from their licenses and some charge more for two-lane roads. And Indiana breaks the mold with no state statutes for speeding; each judge in each county case sets whatever fine they like in each case as long as it's between $0 and $500 ($1,000 in construction zones). Missouri also has judges deciding the fine in each case. If you're caught going up to 19 miles over, you can face a maximum fine of $300 and 15 days in jail.

For the purposes of comparison, we picked a specific speed on an interstate road. And our mythical speeders aren't being busted in a construction zone, so no doubling of fines.

Not that we'd ever advocated speeding, but it's clear that Wisconsin's going to hurt your wallet the most. And if you're going to get caught, Iowa is the place to do it.

Here's what we found:

10 mph over the limitIllinois: $120Iowa: $40Wisconsin: $200.50Missouri: $83Michigan: $10525 mph over the limit:Illinois: $140Wisconsin: $301.30Iowa: $90Missouri: $208Michigan: $14040 mph over the limitIllinois: $160Wisconsin: $515.50Iowa: $100+ $5 per mileMissouri: court visitMichigan: $155+ $4 per mile