Illinois to list names of tollway drivers who don't pay

[Lyon Wonder]

I guess some drivers treat tollway fees like not paying for overdue library books.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-tollway-scofflaws-20130828,0,3573535.story

Tollway to post names of scofflaws

Website will list those owing more than $1,000

By Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune reporter

7:21 a.m. CDT, August 28, 2013

Motorists who use the Illinois Tollway but refuse to pay tolls and fines may already have collection agents chasing them, but by the end of the week the names of the most egregious scofflaws could also be posted on the Tollway's website.

The list will name those who have racked up more than $1,000 in tolls and fines, officials said.

Until now, the Tollway had been reluctant to publicize the names. But Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday signed legislation allowing the Tollway to do so, along with the amount of fines and unpaid tolls owed by each violator.

"We are working to compile this list now and hope to be able to publish it on the Tollway's website this week," agency spokeswoman Wendy Abrams said.

The Tollway's action follows similar public shamings by agencies in Texas and on the East Coast.

The North Texas Tollway Authority posts its list of "Top 100 Toll Violators" on its website.

Another agency that uses the tactic is the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Its "Wall of Shame" lists the "top egregious toll violators."

Last year the Illinois Tollway estimated that deadbeats had racked up about $300 million in unpaid tolls and fines since 2001.

The Tollway said it issues about 1.4 million first-violation notices every year. The agency collected more than $33 million in revenue from toll violations in 2011, according to a recent audit.

The agency took dozens of companies to court last fall seeking about $1.8 million in unpaid tolls and penalties. Those companies included a Streamwood trucking firm that ignored repeated demands that it pay $152,000, and a Sandwich plumbing company that owed $60,000, according to the Tollway.

The bill authorizing posting the names was sponsored by Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, and Reps. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, and Kathleen Willis, D-Addison.  The measure was approved by the General Assembly on May 31.