Schaumburg approves local tickets for drivers using cellphones
Within the next week to 10 days, Schaumburg patrol officers will have the option to write $75 local tickets instead of sending negligent drivers - particularly those using handheld cellphones - to Cook County circuit court with $214 citations.
It's not that Schaumburg police feel the $214 fines are too high; rather, they suspect some judges might.
Schaumburg Police Chief Jim Lamkin said village officers issued about 1,770 citations for cellphone and texting violations during the first seven months of this year.
He told members of the public safety committee this month that officers reported inconsistent court findings in which tickets were frequently dismissed or resulted in only minimal fines.
The committee recommended a new local law reviewed by Village Attorney Lance Malina and unanimously approved by village trustees Tuesday.
The law allows officers to issue the local tickets to first-time offenders, who can have their cases heard by Schaumburg's adjudication process.
There will be some training for the officers on the option of the new tickets before they may start being issued in early November, Lamkin said.
At each officer's discretion, the circuit court citations or even written warnings may also be issued for such a traffic stop, he added.
Schaumburg officers respond to between 3,800 and 4,000 crashes per year, of which about 10 percent involve injuries. Lamkin said there's a known correlation between talking or texting on cellphones and accidents that result in serious injury.
Schaumburg resident Peter Pacione, a practicing attorney, attended the recent public safety committee meeting to say he thought the local tickets would be legally unsound as all moving violations must go to the circuit court.
Malina replied that the statutes make clear that only after a first offense are such behaviors considered moving violations.