Palatine offers ticket amnesty on a variety of offenses

Those with unpaid parking, compliance, animal or village sticker violation tickets in Palatine will get a one-time chance to pay them off at a discount and clear blemishes on their credit reports.

Fines for unpaid tickets issued in 2008 or earlier will be reduced by 50 percent if they're paid during the amnesty period from July 1 to Sept. 30.

"It's kind of a small way to say, 'Hey let's just work together here,'" said Village Manager Reid Ottesen.

He said many people are doing everything they can to get their finances in order because of the flagging economy, and unpaid tickets can negatively affect credit ratings.

Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz also favors the program as a way to help residents clear up their records.

Said police Commander Kurt Schroeder: "We really do just want to try to make this easier for people."

Of course, the village could benefit, too, as officials hope people who might otherwise ignore the tickets will pay up.

According to police, an average of 14,200 tickets of this nature are issued every year, and 77 percent are paid before the police have to involve a collection agency. The department takes in about $290,000 yearly in ticket fines.

Ottesen said the village cannot always take people to court over unpaid fines because the cost of the legal fight outweighs the revenue that would be received from the ticket.

But the department realized the extent to which credit scores were being affected.

"That's really the best enforcement that we have," Ottesen said.

Starting July 1, payment on qualifying tickets should be made by calling the village's collection agency, Armor Systems, at (800) 785-8551.

Red-light camera violations are not eligible for the program, and the village is not offering refunds for tickets already paid.

To check to see if you have unpaid tickets, call the police records department at (847) 359-9004 or (847) 202-6618 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Other villages, including Schaumburg, have also offered amnesty programs to ticket scofflaws.