Traffic Tickets and Points
If you get a traffic ticket in Illinois, you'll need to decide whether to pay the fine and accept the penalty placed on your driving record or to contest the ticket and plead not guilty. Choosing the first of these options is simpler, although your insurance premium may go up.
Accepting the Penalty Online
If you would like to accept the penalty and pay the fine online, you should send your payment to the county court noted on your traffic ticket at least two weeks before your court date. All tickets must be paid in full. Check online for more detailed information for your country and be sure to read your ticket for any further information. Not all counties support paying ticket fines online.
Visit the Illinois Courts sites for details on each county that supports online payments.
Fighting the Ticket
You may go to traffic court and plead “not guilty” if you believe you were not in violation of Illinois law or if you believe there are extenuating circumstances. You may want to contact a traffic attorney before you go to court.
Lost Your Ticket
If you have lost your ticket, you will need to contact the county traffic court for the county where you received the citation. The county clerk should be able to provide you all the information you need to pay the fine or fight the ticket.
Points for Your Tickets
Illinois has a very detailed points system that explicitly assigns points based on many different types of traffic offenses. The following lists some of the most common violations and their points:
- Disregarding traffic control light, lane control signal, or flashing traffic signal - 20 points
- Squealing or screeching tires - 10 points
- Speeding too fast for conditions - 10 points
- Speeding 1-10 mph above the limit - 5 points
- Speeding 11-14 mph above the limit - 15 points
- Speeding 15-25 mph above the limit - 20 points
- Collision involving damage to vehicles only — failure to stop, exchange information and make report - 25 points
- Failure to stop and exchange information or give aid after motor vehicle collision — personal injury involved - 50 points
- Passing on shoulder while merging into traffic - 20 points
- Following too closely - 25 points
- Disregarding stop or yield sign at an intersection - 20 points
For details on all the offenses visit the CyberDriverIllinois site.
"Zero-Point" Orders
The court may order a defendant to attend a driver improvement clinic for some points-bearing violation.
The disposition will still post on the driver‟s record. However, no points will be assessed for the violation.