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The ordinance effectively ends driver’s license suspensions for non-moving violations in Chicago, because the City will no longer refer those who have not paid standing, parking, and compliance fines to the Secretary of State to have their licenses suspended. The ordinance also reforms City Sticker policies by cutting sticker penalties for failing to buy an up-to-date sticker within the time limit, reinstates a 15-day grace period for drivers to replace a sticker without penalty after its expiration date, and ends the practice of ticketing on the same or next day for compliance violations. City sticker ticket costs will be capped at $250 for a failure to pay on time.

The ordinance creates the option for all people to opt into a six-month payment plan—which allows for the ability to pay on debts for six months without late fees—without providing any proof of hardship or documentation. Anyone will be able to request a 24-hour extension to pay their fines in full or start a payment plan after getting their vehicle booted. Further, the ordinance will offer lower down payments and giving more time to pay off debt for people “experiencing hardship.”

Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have advocated against the use of fines, fees, and court costs to fund courts and government services for the past several years and have been members of the Transit Table coalition since 2016. The Transit Table is a coalition of Illinois social service providers, advocates, and other stakeholders working to eliminate transportation barriers that keep people out of work and in poverty.

The coalition has sought an end to the practice of driver’s license suspension for non-moving violations in Chicago and throughout the state. The cycle of fines and fees, as well as the burden of license suspension, keeps people out of work and in poverty. Transit Table spokesperson Eric Halvorson comments:

Across the state, we estimate that 400 people lose their jobs every week due to non-moving license suspensions, and Chicago is ground zero for these suspensions. We talk about a suspension of your license as a suspension of your life because it undermines everything you and your family are trying to do, including paying off the debts that got us here.

In Chicago, those suspensions pile on top of huge ticket debts, racially disproportionate ticketing, and draconian debt collection practices, which heavily burden communities of color and low-income neighborhoods where people are working extremely hard to make ends meet.

In July, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced she would support the statewide License to Work Act (SB 1786, sponsored by Aquino & Ammons), ending the practice of driver’s license suspension to penalize nonpayment on nonmoving vehicle tickets, such as parking tickets. The License to Work Act is expected to be called to vote in the fall veto session of the state legislature. Learn how you can assist in getting the License to Work Act passed.

Although we continue to push for equity across all Chicago’s fines, fees, and debt collection practices, we are excited to see the City of Chicago examining these issues and reaching for ways to reduce the cycles of poverty created by excessive fines and fees. This ordinance marks a significant move forward in addressing these costs, fees, and fines that are regressive and disproportionately impact lower-income individuals, families, and communities in the city and throughout the state.

Read the full Transit Table press release.

In addition to Chicago Appleseed, Transit Table members include, but are not limited to: ACLU of Illinois, Chicago Jobs Council, Chicago Urban League, Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI), Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, Jane Addams Resource Corporation, Revolution Workshop, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and Woodstock Institute. The License to Work Act is also supported by Americans for Prosperity–Illinois.