Illinois gets $2.7M windfall as motorists rack up fees for late vehicle registration

Budget gridlock in Springfield caused the Illinois secretary of state’s office to suspend mailing vehicle-registration-renewal reminders in October 2015; as a result, during the first three months of 2016, the state took in $2.7 million more in fees for late license-plate renewal than it did during the same period in 2015.

Due to the Illinois secretary of state’s suspension of mailing license-plate-renewal reminders as of October 2015, the state of Illinois has received a $2.7 million windfall in fees for late license-plate renewals during the first three months of 2016, according to the Associated Press. Between January and March 2016, Illinois vehicle owners paid $4.9 million in fees for renewing their license plates late, up from $2.2 million during the same period in 2015. Over 247,000 motorists received fines for late vehicle-registration renewal in the first three months of 2016, compared with 111,000 people in January, February and March 2015.

The secretary of state’s office stopped mailing renewal reminders in an effort to save $450,000 per month amid the state’s budget crisis. But some Illinois lawmakers are concerned that, given the sudden stoppage of mailed reminders, it’s unfair to slap vehicle owners with $20 late fees. Illinois state Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, is sponsoring legislation to suspend the $20 fine for late license-plate renewal, but the bill has not yet been voted on by the full Illinois House or Senate, according to the Associated Press.

Currently, Illinoisans who renew their vehicle registrations late are subject to a fee of $20 in addition to the $101 renewal fee, and anyone driving with expired registration risks traffic tickets as well.

Drivers who do not sign up for email notification will need to renew their registrations in person, as they will not have the necessary personal identification numbers for online renewal. (Illinois vehicle owners can sign up online for email reminders of registration-renewal deadlines.)

Ironically, while some lawmakers are trying to lessen the burden of the state’s fiscal problems on Illinois drivers, others have proposed hiking vehicle-related fees. Illinois state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, has introduced legislation that would increase the state’s gas tax, raise the current $101 vehicle-registration fee for trucks and cars by 50 percent, and include automatic registration-fee increases tied to inflation, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.

Illinois is in its 10th month without a budget, and its unpaid bills total over $6.7 billion.

Although switching to electronic reminders to save money is not a bad idea, the abrupt stoppage of mailed vehicle-registration-renewal notices necessitated by the budget stalemate has subjected tens of thousands of Illinoisans to unnecessary fines and fees. Legislative measures to suspend late fees may be necessary under the circumstances, but the real solution is for Illinois lawmakers to pass a budget the state can afford – without subjecting residents to onerous fee hikes and tax increases.