Illinois Considering Raising Ticket Prices To Save State Police Jobs
In a story that illustrates the connection between police department funding and traffic tickets, the state of Illinois is considering taking a portion of county bond fees collected from minor traffic violations and giving it to the state to help fund the state police. They’re also considering raising ticket prices to deal with the budget shortfall.
The Rockford Register Star has the story:
Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to soon sign legislation that could save the jobs of 464 state troopers and keep five state police headquarters from closing, including District 16 in Pecatonica. [...]
Senate Bill 3695, which has passed in the House and Senate, would set up a new fund that would send a portion of county bond fees collected from minor traffic violations to state coffers. Rep. Jim Sacia, co-sponsor of the bill, said the total of all such fees collected from across Illinois would total about $22 million.
Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen argues that the legislation would be “raiding” counties and municipalities to make up for the state’s budget problems.
[...]
One solution, Christiansen said, would be to increase the traffic fine from $75 to $120, which would reflect the rate of inflation over the past 20 years.
In order to do so, the Illinois Supreme Court would have to approve a change, which has not been done since 1992, Sacia said.
Sacia said increasing the fine would be reasonable — Wisconsin fines violators $186 — and that he is 95 percent sure the change will come within the next calendar year.
Essentially this is a case of two different governments (local and state) fighting over who gets to keep the money that they’re extracting from motorists. With budgets tight everywhere, this is a scenario that is happening more and more often across the country. Unfortunately, motorists are often the easiest target when any branch of government needs more money.
You deserve every speeding ticket you get. You can complain all you want after the fact, but it's true. Find out why.
It's one of the "great" American past times: complaining about unfair speeding tickets. There are two types of people when it comes to complaining about this particular type of traffic ticket. Which group are you in?
Also the same theory by which my parents had their credit limit cut because they paid off their mortgage! But that's besides the point…
I'd call myself anti-tax, but not because I dislike paying taxes (which I do). I'm anti-tax because of all the tax money that is wasted. Illinois does not have to be in the position that it's in. Our "leaders" could have shown restraint in their spending, but chose not to. They could have saved some of the money that was flowing in when times were good, but chose not to.
Every politician at local, state, and federal level is guilty of the same thing. If they weren't, they wouldn't get elected to begin with. That's why I'm anti-tax–because the people who, by force of law, can separate me from my money insist on wasting it. That's how we get to the point Illinois is in right now–with other states soon to follow.
I agree with gigabytousai; its the same theory by which credit card companies raise your interest rate if you pay off your balance each month.
This is the logical outcome of the anti-tax movement. They don't get that it costs money to live here; all this stuff we enjoy as Americans is not free and everyone has to pay their fair share of the rent. No politician has the balls to stand up and say that so instead we get the next worst thing to slavery, for-profit law enforcement.
No one cared when asset seizure bankrolled the "war on (some) drugs" because that was just crackheads and stoners, but now that it has filtered down to the average motorist, perhaps those who argue so fervently about rights will take notice.
If the state of Illinois can't afford a state police department and the state's residents are not willing to voluntarily tax themselves to pay for it, perhaps they need to entertain the idea that maybe they don't need it.
If anything, the price should come down.
Take pay cuts, or start letting people go.
Another example of the legalized corruption of the Traffic Enforcement Systems in the United States. Land of The Free – Bull! I feel much safer from the Police in Mexico than in any State in the US.
Sick. Just sick. Illinois has now become this/close to official quotas. The consequences for not writing enough tickets won't be limited to career stagnation. Instead, we'll have a "write X tickets or we won't have enough money to pay you" situation.
I'm waiting for someone will be accusing me of not doing my part to fund the state because I don't get tickets–and be able to say it with a straight face!