Tollway may relax time to pay back tolls
You'd still owe for that missed toll, but you'd have more time to scrounge money or buy a lottery ticket to cover the cost under a plan adopted by a tollway panel Thursday.
Members of the Illinois tollway's Customer Service Committee agreed to extend the time from 56 to 90 days for people facing fines. Their decision still needs approval from the full board.
Currently, the agency offers several deadlines ranging from two weeks to three weeks for violators.
Fines are triggered once a driver misses three tolls within two years.
The proposed revision would give customers an initial 30-day period to pay or contest the first violation notice. A second notice would be issued with a higher fine and allowing another 30 days to respond. A final notice with warnings of possible license suspension or other penalties would provide another 30 days to reply.
The change gives drivers a more consistent and simple timeline to follow, Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said.
If approved, the new schedule would go into effect by Jan. 1.
The agency issued 1.2 million first-violation notices in 2012 and collected about $44 million out of $55 million owed in blown tolls.