Des Plaines considering vehicle sticker amnesty program

Des Plaines city officials are investigating whether to institute a vehicle sticker amnesty program that could excuse hundreds of dollars in fines for residents who have skirted the system.

Ward 4 Alderman Dick Sayad suggested the city consider the amnesty program at this week’s city council meeting.

“We want to get more people on the (sticker) program,” he said.

City Finance Director Dorothy Wisniewski said the city has conducted a vehicle sticker amnesty program in years past, though she didn’t know the details of how it was implemented.

“That’s what I’m in the process of researching right now,” Wisniewski said.

Officials this week did not offer a clear plan for how an amnesty might work.

Each fall and spring, the city obtains a list of registered Des Plaines vehicle owners from the Secretary of State’s Office and compares it to the list of residents in its database with valid vehicle stickers. Notices are sent out to residents in violation of the sticker ordinance.

However, the secretary of state’s list may not reflect a vehicle’s change of ownership or if it has been rendered inoperable because of an accident, Wisniewski said. The city is in the process of obtaining a new list of registered vehicle owners from the secretary of state.

“We don’t really have a good gauge because of that list not being fully updated,” she said.

The city always sends out letters notifying new residents that they are required to purchase stickers, Wisniewski added.

The late fee for not having a vehicle sticker for the current year is $80 plus the current cost of a sticker, which is $30 for a regular passenger vehicle. Fines are $75 for previous years. The city can assess fines up to three years in arrears.

Current vehicle stickers expire June 30. Stickers for the new fiscal year go on sale May 1. The cost goes up to $40 for stickers purchased after July 1 until July 31. In August, the sticker cost jumps to $80.

Any amnesty program, which requires approval from the city’s finance committee and the full city council, would likely be implemented during the vehicle sticker season, Wisniewski said.

The city’s vehicle sticker program generates roughly $1.2 million in annual revenue.