Schaumburg offers amnesty for parking scofflaws

For a limited time only, Schaumburg police are offering a half-price deal on unpaid parking tickets.

Under a new amnesty program, motorists with outstanding parking tickets will be given the chance during the month of March to pay up, with the late fee waived. In most cases, that reduces fines by 50 percent.

This isn't merely a gesture of benevolence, though.

Starting in April, the number of unpaid tickets that can accumulate before you're eligible to have a Denver boot placed on your car will drop from five to three.

"We felt that it was important to offer people an opportunity to resolve their fines at a greatly reduced price before the boot threshold is lowered," Acting Director of Police Brian Howerton said in a prepared statement.

Currently more than 800 vehicles have at least five outstanding parking tickets, police said.

The amnesty program isn't for everyone, though. Drivers $250 tickets for parking in a handicap spot won't be eligible.

To see if you have an outstanding ticket, go to villageofschaumburg.com, select "pay parking ticket" and enter for license plate number (though to qualify for the amnesty program you can't actually pay over the Internet), or call (847) 882-3586.