Starting Tuesday, Chicago drivers can pay off long overdue tickets while dodging late fees.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a ticket penalty amnesty program Tuesday after working the plan into his 2025 budget passed in December.
Johnson’s budget also calls for adding 50 new speed cameras to raise money from drivers going over the limit. So this amnesty plan will give him a talking point to counter criticism that he’s balancing the books by relying on regressive fines.
The amnesty program seeks to bring in an influx of cash from drivers who would otherwise not pay off their ticket debt amid mounting fees.
Drivers must pay off their base fine balance in full by June 30 to avoid the late penalties and interest they have since accrued. Only violations with a “notice of final determination” issued before 2024 will qualify, according to a news release.
“This is what it means to build a government that’s rooted in fairness and justice,” Johnson said at a news conference Tuesday. “To the Chicagoans who have old ticket debt, this is your chance for a fresh start. So do not wait.”
The program mirrors a similar effort made by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot to encourage ticketed drivers to finally pay up. A 2019 installment of Lightfoot’s city sticker amnesty program relieved 12,000 motorists of $11.5 million in outstanding tickets.
Johnson’s amnesty effort will affect tickets related to non-meter parking, standing vehicle rules and automated speed and red-light cameras. It will also be available to drivers with expired registrations, missing city stickers or license plate issues.
However, it will not help drivers fined for expired parking meters or who face debt-collection court proceedings filed by the city.
The city is also launching an amnesty program for city stickers available through the end of April. Vehicle owners will be able to purchase the required city sticker with no late fees or back charges, City Clerk Anna Valencia said in a statement.
The city is working to collect about $100 million in outstanding vehicle ticket debt, Budget Director Annette Guzman said Tuesday. Johnson’s annual budget already assumes ticket revenues will rise with the newly-opened amnesty program “baked in,” she added.
“We forecasted an amount that we could receive from the revenue above and beyond what we normally get by allowing people who may not pay their debt back in normal course to do so without that penalty,” Guzman said.
But the same budget that granted drivers ticket relief is far from all good news for Chicago drivers.
Johnson’s spending plan also counts on $11 million in additional revenue from the installation of the new automated speed cameras around the city. And the 2025 budget included a $5 price bump for city stickers as well as higher taxes on car leases and parking rates.
