Deadline looms for Carpentersville ticket amnesty program

If you received a ticket from Carpentersville police before July 1, you have less than a week to pay half the citation’s face value and get off the hook.

On Aug. 15, the village’s one-time amnesty program expires and you’ll be stuck paying the full value of your tickets. As of Friday, the department had collected $16,998 from people who decided to take advantage of the program, said Ed Dennis, the police chief’s project coordinator.

He estimates the village is owed $930,000 from unpaid tickets going back four years. But more money may be forthcoming, as authorities sent out 1,800 notices earlier this summer that reminded people what they owed.

“We’re anticipating a significant rush as the deadline approaches,” Dennis said. “The activity is starting to pick up in the last few days.”

The biggest chunk thus far has come from a mother and son who owed $6,550 on 116 tickets attached to their shared vehicle.

Most of their tickets were for neglecting to purchase a vehicle sticker, but some were for failing to renew their license plates, Dennis said.

The village previously hired an outside company to track down scofflaws and it reached out to the family 50 times.

“They just ignored everything until we sent out the (amnesty) notices,” Dennis said. “When they got the notices, they decided it was time to pay up.”

Because they responded before the amnesty deadline, they only owed $3,275 on their outstanding citations.

Significant penalties go into effect after Aug. 15 for scofflaws. Police will boot cars for people with five unpaid tickets and recommend license suspensions for those with 10.

People with tickets issued July 1 and after don’t qualify for the amnesty program. They instead have an opportunity to challenge them in the village’s new adjudication court, which begins hearing cases Aug. 17.