Arlington Heights parking scofflaw agrees to pay $44,113

Two Arlington Heights residents with past-due parking tickets totaling $44,113 and $10,834 are among those who have agreed to pay up since the Arlington Heights Police Department started booting cars two weeks ago.

Police say the ticket scofflaws are stepping up to clear their debt after being threatened with having their driver's licenses suspended and their vehicles "booted" by an immobilization device.

Vehicle owners with five past-due tickets are eligible for the boot, nicknamed after the device's best-known brand, the Denver Boot.

The $44,113 debtor whose tickets date back to 2005 was tops on the village's list, and most of those in the top 10 have paid their fines or made arrangements to do so, said Capt. Nicholas Pecora.

A search of the records this week found 2,300 people with five or more unpaid tickets, he said. During the first round of amnesty, about 900 of the worst offenders received letters offering them a chance to settle for about 75 percent of what they owe and threatening them with the boot and/or the license suspension. The remaining 1,400 people will receive letters soon.

Police started using the boots about two weeks ago and have attached them to at least three vehicles, including a woman who has promised $10,834 and another who paid $3,639. Both of their vehicles were booted in the Vail Avenue garage.

A man whose sport utility vehicle was booted Wednesday in downtown Arlington Heights had eight overdue tickets and paid up before the end of the day, said Pecora. He had paid past-due tickets in February, then fell behind again. He owed $325 for the eight tickets plus a $125 fee for the boot.

Arlington Heights Public Service Officers have a list of cars eligible to be booted, so if they are spotted, the boot can be called out. A booted car that remains on the street for 24 hours will be towed.

A boot had not yet been applied to the car of the largest ticket scofflaw, Pecora said, and if he had acted sooner, he could have paid $32,000 to clear his debt during the amnesty period. The majority of his tickets were violations of paybox and time zone violations.

"The total amount is based on almost 750 unsettled tickets that began at roughly $25 and increased to $35 after nonpayment within 90 days. Then, the collections vendor assesses a 30 percent fee for their efforts. Each citation is approximately $50 after it is processed through collection," Pecora said.

The campaign to clear up unpaid tickets that date back to 1992 started this spring has produced $130,000 in payments and another $90,000 in promises so far, said Pecora.

The police department has five boots for cars and one for SUVs or small trucks.

In the past the police department would send out three or four letters about unpaid tickets and then if there was no response the matter was sent to a collection agency. However, no action was ever taken, he said. The main problem for the scofflaws was a mark on their credit record.

A year ago the police department notified the village board that some people had a significant number of unpaid citations. This year, ordinances were passed to allow for booting these violators' cars. After accumulating 10 tickets, the village can ask the Illinois Secretary of State to suspend the owner's drivers license. The village must send out warning letters first.

The majority of the tickets are for parking violations, but others could be for equipment issues such as headlights that don't work, police said.